A curriculum for adolescent mothers: an evaluation
Smith, P.B.; Weinman, M.; Johnson, T.C.; Wait, R.B.; Mumford, D.M.
Journal of Adolescent Health Care Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 6(3): 216-219
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0197-0070 PMID: 3988582 DOI: 10.1016/s0197-0070(85)80021-8Document Number: 412299
The study reported on was designed to evaluate the ability of the adolescent mother to benefit from instruction programs offered during her pregnancy and the retention of the birth control knowledge (short-term content), child-rearing knowledge (intermediate content), and educational and vocational activities (long-term content) after the baby is born. 104 indigent, pregnant adolescents between 13-17 years were selected to evaluate the effect of a prenatal education curriculum presented in a maternity clinic. Beginning in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, adolescents were enrolled in an 8-week series of 3-hour classes taught by a multidisciplinary team. Each adolescent received comprehensive maternal and child health compliance information, instruction in child-rearing techniques and educational and vocational guidance. The adolescent mothers were visited 6 months postpartum to test which short-term, intermediate and long-term curriculum content items were accurately and effectively retained. Success of the curriculum was evaluated by a trained social worker in the girl's home to ascertain how these content areas were reflected in the adolescent mother's behavior. The results suggest that adolescents were able to effectively use short-term information such as birth control and health information, as evidenced by their high compliance with well-baby care and birth control use. Intermediate information such as correct child development information was less successful, and often did not lead to appropriate behavior 6 months after the baby was born. Long-term educational and vocational performance content did not demonstrate effective long-term retention. Technical aspects of child-rearing, even when deliberately presented by health educators, did not appear to be easily applied in the extended family setting, and long-term goals seemed inconsistent with the adolescent's behavior.