The unique purpose of the present proposal is to examine the relations among steroids of adrenal and gonadal origin, psychological characteristics (emotions and personality), and environmental factors (social support, family environment, and life events) during pregnancy and relate these processes to the psychological functioning of the adolescent's mother in the early postpartum period, as well as to labor and delivery complications and health status of the infant. Three hypotheses will be tested: (1) Short-term increases in cortisol levels in response to novel and challenging situations, (2) Lower levels of estradiol, testosterone and higher levels of cortisol and androstenedione, and (3) Higher levels of negative emotions and negative personality characteristics will predict negative emotions and personality characteristics in the postpartum period, as well as labor and delivery complications, and poor infant health status. The sample will consist of 75 nonurban, 12- to 19-year-old pregnant adolescent, and a comparison group of 75 nonpregnant adolescents. Data will be obtained in the 12th and 32nd week of pregnancy, at labor and delivery, and in the third week postpartum. Serum and saliva will be used to determine levels of gonadal and adrenal steroids and cortisol. The psychological, environmental, and infant status variables will be assessed by standardized questionnaires, medical records, and interviews. The proposed study will extend the field in three major ways: (a) Assessing both biological and behavioral processes, prospectively, will give a more comprehensive picture of the contributors to poor adolescent pregnancy outcomes than has been available in the past, (b) Including nonurban adolescents will yield findings generalizable to the largest group of adolescents who become pregnant in the U.S. and, (c) Assessing longitudinal changes from early pregnancy to the postpartum period has the potential for generating findings with implications for preventing problems in the developing fetus, as well as preparing the immature adolescent mother for her future demanding parenting role.
