The Influence of Father Involvement and Interparental Relationship Quality on Adolescent Mothers' Maternal Identity

Abstract

Guided by maternal role attainment and identity theory perspectives, the authors examined the association between prenatal and postbirth father involvement and maternal identity for adolescent mothers and the moderating effects of interparental relationship quality. Mailed surveys were completed by 125 mothers age 14–19 years (67.2% White) who were recruited from a statewide school‐based program. Maternal identity was operationalized as a latent construct composed of three indicators representing role validation, role strain, and identity salience. Analyses revealed that prenatal father involvement was positively associated with fathers' postbirth engagement with their children and indirectly associated with maternal identity. The association between father involvement pre and post birth as well as the association between father–child involvement and maternal identity were moderated by the presence of a cooperative relationship between mothers and their child's father, consistent with a moderated mediation model. Implications for future research and practice are presented.

Adolescent Mothers' Experiences Over Time

“…Our findings, along with other recent work (Mallette et al, 2015), suggest that this is an area for assessment and intervention. Our findings, along with other recent work (Mallette et al, 2015), suggest that this is an area for assessment and intervention.…”

“…Long-term stability for the adolescent mothers in new relationships appeared dependent on how well the relationship was maintained over time. The role of relationship quality is increasingly being recognized as a critical factor in outcomes (e.g., identity development) for adolescent mothers, with cooperative relationships and low conflict identified as important relational factors (Fagan, Schmitz, & Lloyd, 2007;Mallette et al, 2015). However, our findings suggest more research is warranted, particularly around subsequent partnership quality.…”

“…The role of relationship quality is increasingly being recognized as a critical factor in outcomes (e.g., identity development) for adolescent mothers, with cooperative relationships and low conflict identified as important relational factors (Fagan, Schmitz, & Lloyd, 2007;Mallette et al, 2015). For the mothers doing well, relationship stability was central and more prominent in their narratives than any other factor.…”

“…SmithBattle and Leonard (2014) also demonstrated how the nature of the relationship with key support people (i.e., maternal grandmothers) can lead to different trajectories and outcomes. Similarly, there is a growing recognition of the importance of the relationship with the father of the baby for adolescent women (Mallette, Futris, Brown, & Oshri, 2015), although more work is needed to understand the interplay of factors that contribute to outcomes for adolescent mothers. One such factor, related to the infant and possibly affecting the parent-child relationship (Borghini et al, 2006), is preterm birth.…”

“…For example, Luster, Bates, Vanderbelt, and Nievar (2004) found that differences in the academic success of children born to adolescent mothers could be explained by interactions between maternal and child characteristics, contextual sources of stress, and supportive relationships. Similarly, there is a growing recognition of the importance of the relationship with the father of the baby for adolescent women (Mallette, Futris, Brown, & Oshri, 2015), although more work is needed to understand the interplay of factors that contribute to outcomes for adolescent mothers. Similarly, there is a growing recognition of the importance of the relationship with the father of the baby for adolescent women (Mallette, Futris, Brown, & Oshri, 2015), although more work is needed to understand the interplay of factors that contribute to outcomes for adolescent mothers.…”