Developmental status of children of teen mothers: contrasting objective assessments with maternal reports

Abstract

Introduction: Descriptive study compared adolescent mothers' subjective perceptions of their children's development with objective developmental assessments.

Methods: A volunteer sample of mother/child pairs was recruited from an urban high school. Thirty-three mothers completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (A&SQ). The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) was administered to children.

Results: On the BSID, group mean scores all fell within the normal range. However, almost 20% of individual children had one or more delays. Almost 73% of mothers accurately assessed their children's development on the A&SQ when compared with BSID results. Eighteen percent of mothers suspected delays when no delays were objectively identified. A single mother identified delay in a different domain than that identified on the BSID.

Discussion: Findings that almost 20% of these children had developmental delays support other research that children of adolescent mothers are at risk for delays. Findings that teen mothers varied in their abilities to assess their children's development reinforce the need for education of teen mothers about child development. Further study is needed to determine the best models of this education in school and community settings.