This study examines the influence of the family on the development of children born to teenagers and older women. The qualities of relationships within black families will be investigated (specifically mother-grandmother, mother-child, and grandmother- child relationships) as well as their impact on cognitive and social development of toddlers. Of particular interest is the extent to which family interaction patterns and family support systems mediate links between socioeconomic status and child outcome. An additional goal is to identify patterns of family functioning that may serve as protective factors for child development, despite disadvantaged circumstances of the family. Four generations of 300 primarily black low-income families are being studied in what is known as the Baltimore study. The proposed project focuses on the women of Generation III who have or will become mothers between the ages of 16 and 22, their mothers (Generation II), and the new generation --IV--, the toddlers. Two activities are proposed: 1) data analysis of Study 1, a current ongoing study directed by J. Brooks-Gunn, funded by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, of adolescent mothers of Generation III and their families; and 2) Study 2: data collection and analysis of a comparison group of older mothers. Study 1 uses an individual difference approach to identify patterns of family functioning, parenting, and grandparenting that promote healthy or dysfunctional development in toddlers of teen mothers. Study 2 will compare family processes between teen-mother families and families of older childbearers. A multi-method design is used, involving structured interviews of mother and grandmother about education, occupations, and welfare status, videotaped family interaction tasks, and personality questionnaires. Child outcomes include IQ, behavior problems checklist, and videotaped behavioral observations. All data are collected in the homes. Specific research questions include: How does shared caregiving between mother and grandmother affect child development? Does the emotional quality of the mother-grandmother relationship set the tone of the family and influence child outcome? How do SES conditions of mother and grandmother affect the child? Do patterns of family interaction and shared caregiving vary for teenage and older mothers? Do toddlers of older mothers demonstrate better cognitive functioning and social competence than toddlers of teen mothers?
| Wakschlag, L S; Chase-Lansdale, P L; Brooks-Gunn, J (1996) Not just ""ghosts in the nursery"": contemporaneous intergenerational relationships and parenting in young African-American families. Child Dev 67:2131-47 |
| Chase-Lansdale, P L; Brooks-Gunn, J; Zamsky, E S (1994) Young African-American multigenerational families in poverty: quality of mothering and grandmothering. Child Dev 65:373-93 |
