KEENAN, COLLEEN KATHARINE; PHD

                         THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, 1989
 
                         PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL (0620); PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL (0451); HEALTH SCIENCES,   NURSING (0569)
 

                         Adolescent motherhood has been studied extensively, documenting both the immediate and long term
                         outcomes for the young woman and her child. Social support has been identified as an important
                         protective force in preventing negative health outcomes in a variety of populations, including adolescent
                         mothers. However, the mechanism by which social support operates is not fully understood, particularly
                         among adolescent mothers. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct effect of social support
                         on the outcome of depression, while simultaneously measuring the indirect effects of two psychological
                         characteristics, self esteem and social competence. In addition, this two-wave longitudinal study
                         spanning a period of three years also measured the degree of change/stability in several structural and
                         functional social network characteristics of adolescent mothers and delayers of parenthood. The study
                         sample was comprised of 62 subjects, aged 15 to 21 at the second measurement period. The racially and
                         socioeconomically mixed sample consisted of delayers of parenthood (N = 24) and mothers (N = 38). In
                         the mothers group, 11 remained stable mothers from Time one, 16 had become second or third time
                         mothers and 11 subjects had become new mothers during the Time one-Time two interim. Study
                         findings partially supported the research hypotheses. While there was no direct protective effect of social
                         support on subsequent depression, significant indirect effects existed, suggesting that both self
                         esteem and social competence at Time one bolstered the effects of social support, resulting in
                         decreased subsequent depression. The network structural changes observed immediately following
                         childbirth in the mothers group, characterized by more frequent contact with a smaller, denser and family
                         dominated network, persisted over time. However, the experience of stress during the previous year had
                         no influence on structural characteristics, although stress was strongly associated with decreased self
                         esteem and social competence as well as increased depression. Marked cross-sectional differences on
                         psychological variables existed not by virtue of maternal status per se, but by change in maternal status.
                         Repeat mothers were lower in self esteem and both repeat and new mothers were significantly more
                         depressed at Time one, antecedent to childbirth. In addition, those mothers living with their partners
                         reported less satisfaction with perceived social support and were lower in both self esteem and social
                         competence. Implications for nursing practice and further research investigation were drawn.

Social Systems Simulation Group P.O. Box 6904 San Diego, CA  92166-0904 Roland Werner, Principal Phone/FAX  (619) 660-1603