Structure and stability of maternal support among pregnant and parenting adolescents

This study examined the effects of positive support and conflict that pregnant/ parenting adolescents received from their mothers. A typology of maternal support and conflict was established using cluster analytic procedures from data collected prenatally; prenatal cluster membership was related to significant differences on three measures of stress. The prenatal cluster solution was replicated at the one-month postnatal period. Postnatal cluster membership was not related to the postnatal outcomes. More than half of the teens had changed clusters from the prenatal to postnatal period. Changes in cluster membership (indicating changes in maternal support), whether in a positive or negative direction, were related to postnatal outcomes. The implications of these findings for the theoretical literature, preventive interventions, and public policy are discussed.