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The Intersection of Adolescent Development, Pregnancy, and Parenthood

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Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting

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Abstract

The period of adolescence is marked by enormous physical, emotional, and cognitive maturation as well as changing social demands and expectations. Pregnancy and parenthood also present developmental challenges. In this chapter we focus on adolescent psychological development, highlighting how the normal developmental crises of adolescence, pregnancy, and parenthood intersect. We review the development of the ability to effectively solve problems (executive functioning, or EF) and to sense another’s mental state (reflective functioning, or RF), both of which are central to effective parenting. In addition to being incompletely developed during adolescence, they are also negatively impacted by stress. Conversely, they can be improved by interventions to reduce stress, such as increasing social support, as well as specific interventions that individually target EF and RF. This chapter will review biological, psychological, and social aspects of normal adolescent development and pregnancy and discuss how these two developmental pathways intersect in adolescent pregnancy and parenthood.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Lois T. Flaherty

  2. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Sarah Lytle

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  1. Lois T. Flaherty
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jean-Victor P. Wittenberg

  2. University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Daniel F. Becker

  3. Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Lois T. Flaherty

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Flaherty, L.T., Lytle, S. (2023). The Intersection of Adolescent Development, Pregnancy, and Parenthood. In: Wittenberg, JV.P., Becker, D.F., Flaherty, L.T. (eds) Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42502-8_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42502-8_4

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