Abstract:

Objective: Becoming a mother during the adolescence can cause additional burdens and adversities which might put these individuals at higher risk for psychosocial disturbances. Several studies have reported higher depression rates and worse parenting skills for adolescent mothers but results are contradicting and limited. Methods: Case group consisted of 47 adolescent mothers; whereas 53 of their counterparts who became mothers in reproductive stage were included in control group. Both groups were evaluated using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Pharis Self-Confidence Scale (PSCS) and Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MTIBS). Results: Adolescent mothers were generally living with family elders (p=0.001), under-educated (p<0.001), unemployed (p<0.001) and mostly didn’t receive any physical support for child-bearing (p=0.011). They also had lower MSPSS-Intimate (p<0.001) and MSPSS-Total (p<0.001) scores; whereas adult mothers scored lower on PSCS (p=0.001) and higher on BDI (p<0.001) and MTIBS (p<0.001). There was also a positive correlation between BDI and MTIBS (p<0.001). Discussion: Majority of the adolescent mothers was less educated and unemployed; but had better mother-to-infant bonding profiles because they had lower depression scores. Also educated and employed adult mothers had lower maternal self-confidence, worse mother-to-infant bonding profiles and higher depression scores. This might reflect possible protective role of more communal family structure/cultural features as well as negative effect of additional distress which working adult mothers may experience. Further studies with larger sample size and diverse cultural backgrounds are needed to better understand the interaction between various psychosocial features.

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