Family stress, perception of pregnancy, and age of first menarche among pregnant adolescents
Ravert, A.A.; Martin, J.
Adolescence 32(126): 261-269
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-8449 PMID: 9179322 Document Number: 269168
Empirical data suggest that family stress, strain, and conflict may be predictors of high risk for early pregnancy, with the breakdown of the family system encouraging adolescents to seek other love objects to compensate for their lack of attention and nurturance. Both the sex partner and the conceived child may serve as a young woman's love objects. The authors investigated whether family-of-origin stress levels are significantly related to the pregnant adolescent's perception of her pregnancy as a life event and whether age at first menarche is related to the subject's level of family stress. 97 pregnant adolescents aged 13-18 years of mean age 16 years and 7 months drawn from 6 community prenatal clinics participated. The sample was comprised of 48 Blacks, 13 Whites, and 36 Latinas, all receiving public assistance at the time of data collection. Family stress levels were assessed through the Adolescent-Family Inventory of Life-Events and Changes (A-FILE) developed by McCubbin and Thompson, perception of pregnancy as a life event was measured on a Likert scale, and age at first menarche was obtained through subject self-report. High levels of family stress were found among subjects with only a moderate level of impact or stress experienced from the pregnancy. As a group, the subjects experienced first menarche at age 12-13 years.