Citation

Bohr Y, BinNoon N. Child Care Pract. 2014; 20(3): 286-300.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13575279.2014.905454

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This community pilot study was designed to evaluate a small group intervention, Right From The Start (RFTS), in terms of the benefits it provides to adolescent mothers specifically. The effectiveness of the programme was examined in the areas of maternal sensitivity, parenting confidence, parenting stress, and postnatal depression. RFTS has been found as effective as home-visiting in improving maternal sensitivity among adult mothers. This research aimed to study whether similar results could be obtained in a population of adolescent mothers. Eleven adolescent mothers participated in this group intervention, and four of them completed it entirely. Mothers were recruited through an early parenting centre where they were videotaped during a five-minute feeding session. Maternal sensitivity was coded pre and post intervention using the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training Parent Child Interaction scale. In addition, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Parenting Stress Index, and the Toddler Care Questionnaire were used. In a paired-samples, two-tailed t-test, overall maternal sensitivity significantly improved between pre and post group intervention (p = 0.048). Maternal depression, stress, and parental confidence did not show significant improvements post intervention. In conclusion, RFTS may be helpful to even very young mothers within some domains of parenting. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed. Further research is required before conclusions about the effectiveness of this programme can be generalised.