Abstract
This study is an adaptation and extension of Apfel and Seitz’s (Family Relations, 40(4), 421–429, 1991) models of adolescent parenting and adolescent-grandmother relationships to a sample of 148 African American, first-time adolescent mothers and their 6-month-old infants. The Parental Supplemental model, in which adolescent mothers and grandmothers shared caregiving, described 63% of Apfel and Seitz’s (1991) sample and 66% of the current sample. Shared caregiving was not associated with conflict in the adolescent mother–grandmother relationship. Adolescent mothers who had caregiving responsibilities and a supportive adolescent-grandmother relationship also reported competence in their parenting role. Findings provide support for Apfel and Seitz’s Parental Apprentice model, in which young mothers gain competence through direct caregiving experience in the context of a supportive relationship.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grant MCJ-240301 from the Maternal and Child Health Research Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The authors wish to thank Dr. Kenneth Maton for his comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Portions of this manuscript were submitted by SEO in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
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Oberlander, S.E., Black, M.M. & Starr, R.H. African American adolescent mothers and grandmothers: A multigenerational approach to parenting. Am J Community Psychol 39, 37–46 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9087-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9087-2