Professional support for adolescent mothers: Who gives it, how adolescent mothers evaluate it, what they would prefer

Forty-two adolescent mothers with 2-year-old children were questioned about their sources of social support, their satisfaction with that support, and their views about including members of their informal support network in the receipt of professional services. The results indicated that 74% of the mothers received parenting advice from some professional source, as well as from their informal support network, and that most were satisfied with their professional contacts. Nonetheless, 75% of the mothers indicated that they would like additional parenting advice from parenting classes, organized neighborhood groups, or from visiting public health nurses or other child development specialists. Ninety percent of the mothers thought it would be helpful to have members of their informal support network participate with them in the receipt of professional services, and 81% thought these individuals would be willing to do so. The implications of these findings for both future research and the design and implementation of programs directed toward adolescent parents and their children are discussed.