Coping With Daily Strain Among Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents

Pregnant and parenting adolescents and professionals identified sources of strain from daily interactions. Pregnant adolescents predicted more exposure to difficult situations and more trouble handling those situations than parenting teenagers actually experienced. Urban, suburban, and rural teenage parents differed on the type of problems and amount of strain encountered. Social supports and cognitive coping strategies were found to moderate the effects of environmental stressors and to reduce depression and anxiety. The findings suggest that clinical efforts to promote skill in interpersonal conflict resolution, cognitive coping strategies, and developing and maintaining social supports may help adolescents manage the multiple stressors of parenting.