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Adolescent pregnancy: An intervention challenge

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Abstract

Even in the best of circumstances, pregnancy is a time of emotional upheaval. This is especially true for pregnant adolescents who are also attempting to adjust to pubertal status and to establish an identity independent from their family. Although research has focused on the etiology of teenage pregnancy, relatively few interventions consider the developmental obstacles encountered when treating pregnant teenagers. In particular, adolescents are cognitively unprepared to predict longterm outcomes, a skill essential for confronting the challenges of pregnancy. One new intervention, known as previewing, seeks to overcome this deficit. Previewing encourages expectant teenage mothers to represent future scenarios with the infant as a means of predicting and rehearsing adaptive outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Adolescent Outpatient Department, The New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center, Westchester Division, 21 Bloomingdale Road, 10605, White Plains, NY

    Paul V. Trad MD (Director)

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  1. Paul V. Trad MD
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Trad, P.V. Adolescent pregnancy: An intervention challenge. Child Psych Hum Dev 24, 99–113 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02367263

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