Pregnancy Intention and Positive Parenting Behaviors Among First-Time Mothers

Abstract

Mothers and children often experience negative outcomes following unintended pregnancies. The current study examined for whom and under what conditions unintended pregnancy was associated with negative outcomes among a sample of 682 first-time mothers, recruited as part of the Predicting and Preventing Child Neglect in Teen Mothers study. Specifically, maternal demographic characteristics were examined as moderators of the association between pregnancy intention and parenting behaviors when children were 18 months old. Results revealed that unintended pregnancy was associated with fewer positive parenting behaviors; however, both maternal race and education moderated the association. Among mothers who identified as Black or Hispanic, those who intended to get pregnant were less likely to demonstrate positive parenting behaviors, and those with less education tended to demonstrate fewer positive parenting behaviors regardless of pregnancy intention. Implications for research, prevention, and intervention are discussed.

Associations between Fathers’ Prebirth Pregnancy Intentions and Involvement with Their Child 15 Months Later: A Propensity Score Analysis

“…That is to say, regardless of whether the pregnancy was intended or not fathers are present and take care of their children similarly, but their pregnancy intentions may affect the amount of stimulating interaction fathers engage in with their children. Similar to prior studies conducted with mothers (Cheng et al, 2009; Claridge et al, 2017; Gauthreaux et al, 2017; Shah et al, 2011; Taylor & Cabral, 2002), it appears that fathers’ pregnancy intentions are an important factor that can ultimately influence their children’s well-being (Lamb & Tamis-LeMonda, 2004), as fathers’ involvement in early childhood supports their children’s language, cognitive, and socioemotional development (Cabrera et al, 2007).…”

Pregnancy intendedness, maternal–fetal bonding, and postnatal maternal–infant bonding

“…This study contributes to the literature on pregnancy intendedness and postnatal bonding in several key ways. First, recent studies that examined the association between pregnancy intendedness and postnatal mother–child relationships often use a dichotomous measure of unplanned/planned or unintended/intended despite acknowledging the multidimensional nature of pregnancy intendedness (e.g., Boden et al., 2015; Claridge et al., 2017; Nelson & O'Brien, 2012). Our measure also captured pregnancies reported as unwanted—which tend to be associated with worse outcomes than those that are reported as mistimed.…”

Dual trajectories of parenting self‐efficacy and depressive symptoms in new, postpartum mothers and socioemotional adjustment in early childhood: A growth mixture model

“…The overall response rate was 55% by the end of the study at 36 months. An attrition analyses performed on these data revealed that the participants who dropped out by 18 months were not significantly different than those who remained in the study in terms of age, relationship status, race, or education (Claridge et al, 2017). Average maternal age at birth was 21.2 years (s.d.…”