Intraindividual variation among pregnant adolescents: a pilot study and conceptual discussion
Blinn-Pike, L.M.; Stenberg, L.; Thompson, C.
Adolescence 29(113): 163-182
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-8449 PMID: 8036974 Document Number: 425832
A review of the diary entries over a six-week period of 14 pregnant adolescents suggested that the emotional lability of this population may render self-report data collected at a single point in time unreliable. The subjects (average age, 16 years; mean gestational age, 5.1 months) were instructed to record weekly entries regarding their feelings about themselves, their mothers, and the baby's father. The affective tone associated with each of these three topics was rated for each week on a scale of 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive). The means were 3.26, 2.71, and 2.38 for mother, baby's father, and self, respectively. Overall, self feelings remained consistently negative, while positive feelings about mothers and neutral feelings about the father fluctuated. A lack of baseline data makes it impossible to determine whether the intraindividual variability observed reflects the state of being pregnant or more enduring personality traits. The research implications of this study are that special consideration should be given to reliability coefficients when instruments are administered to pregnant women. Tests can be given at multiple points in time, or subjects should be homogeneous in terms of gestational age. Emotional lability should further be addressed by health care professionals involved with pregnant adolescents, given the possibility that critical decisions may be made in a transient depressed or elevated mood state.