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Parenting for the First Time

Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers

The project explored risk and protective factors across the transition to parenting and their impact on child development.

Research Overview

The Parenting for the First Time project was a 4-site (University of Notre Dame, University of Kansas, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Georgetown University), 5-year prospective longitudinal study of 397 adolescent mothers and their children as well as a comparison group of 285 adult mothers. The program was funded in 2001 by a partnership of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Department of Education, as well as cell phones and service donated by Centennial Wireless and AT&T. The study involved three types of assessments, including office visits, home visits, and mobile phone interviews. Major constructs include parenting, maternal mental health (depression, self-esteem, self-efficacy, externalizing behaviors), social support, readiness to parent, risk for poor parenting, as well as a variety of child development domains (social, behavioral, cognitive, receptive language).

Funded By

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Education, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Age Group

  • Adolescents
  • Adults
  • Preschooler
  • Toddlers
  • Young Adults

Investigators

  • John Borkowski, Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
  • Sharon Ramey, Ph.D. Georgetown University 
  • Craig Ramey, Ph.D. Georgetown University
  • Judy Carta, Ph.D. University of Kansas
  • Steve Warren, Ph.D. University of Kansas
  • Jennifer Burke Lefever, Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
  • Robin Lanzi, Ph.D. Georgetown University
  • Kristi Guest, Ph.D. University of Alabama – Birmingham
  • Jane Atwater, Ph.D. University of Kansas
     

Partners

Research Impact

This project advanced the measurement of non-optimal parenting including the use of mobile phones to capture daily interactions. It illuminated risks associated with at-risk parenting, such as childhood obesity and development delays.

Publications:

  • Data set archived at National Data Archives on Child Abuse and Neglect: Borkowski, J.G., Carta, J., Warren, S.F., Ramey, S.L., Ramey, C., Guest, K., Keltner, B., Lanzi, R.G., Klerman, L., Atwater, J., and Lefever, J. E. (2013). Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers (2001-2007) [dataset]. Available from National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect Web site, http://www.ndacan.cornell.edu  Link: https://www.ndacan.cornell.edu/datasets/dataset-details.cfm?ID=140
  • Akai, C. E. (2007). Redefining early child neglect: Subthreshold pathways to non-optimal development (Dissertation). University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1564034341&sid=9&Fmt=2&clientId=8424&RQT=309&VName=PQD
  • Bert, S. C., Guner, B. M., Lanzi, R. G., & Centers for Prevention of Child Neglect. (2009). The influence of maternal history of abuse on parenting knowledge and behavior. Family Relations, 58(2), 176–187. doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00545.x
  • Borkowski, J. (2007). Final Report: Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers (No. HD-39456). Ithaca, NY: Retrieved from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect at Cornell University website: Retrieved from http://www.ndacan.cornell.edu/
  • Braungart-Rieker, J.M., Lefever, J.B., Planalp, E.M., & Moore, E.S. (2016). Body Mass Index at age 3: Cascading effects of prenatal maternal depression and mother-infant dynamics. Journal of Pediatrics, 177, 128-132.
  • Farris, J. R. (2007). Adolescent Parenting, Subthreshold Neglect, and Infant Attachment (Dissertation). University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1564005741&sid=8&Fmt=2&clientId=8424&RQT=309&VName=PQD
  • Gilbert, K. K. (2006). Relationship of parenting stress and social support to adolescent maternal parenting behavior and child abuse potential. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1283960981&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=8424&RQT=309&VName=PQD
  • Keener, L. J. (2006). Adult and adolescent parenting: Differences in maternal knowledge of infant development and parenting style(Dissertation). The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1280145021&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1291218715&clientId=8424
  • Lanzi, R. G., Bert, S. C., Jacobs, B. K., & the Centers for the Prevention of Child Neglect. (2009). Depression among a sample of first-time adolescent and adult mothers. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 22(4), 194–202. doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2009.00199.x 
  • Lefever, J. B., Howard, K. S., Lanzi, R. G., Borkowski, J. G., Atwater, J., Guest, K. C., Ramey, S. L., Hughes, K. P., & the Centers for Prevention of Child Neglect. (2008). Cell phones and the measurement of child neglect: The validity of the Parent-Child Activities Interview. Child Maltreatment, 13, 320-333.
  • Miller-Graff, L. E., Nuttall, A. K., & Lefever, J. E. B. (2018). Interpersonal violence during pregnancy: Enduring effects in the post-partum period and implications for the intergenerational transmission of risk. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 0165025418780358.
  • Mitchell, E. A., Nuttall, A. K., & Wittenborn, A. (2019). Maternal depressive symptoms and warm responsiveness across the transition to parenthood. Journal of child and family studies, 28(6), 1604-1612. 
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01392-x
  • Narvaez, D., Gleason, T., Wang, L., Brooks, J., Lefever, J. B., Cheng, Y., & the Centers for the Prevention of Child Neglect. (2013). The evolved development niche: Longitudinal effects of caregiving practices on early childhood psychosocial development. Early Child Research Quarterly, 28, 759-773.
  • Nuttall, A. K., Valentino, K., & Borkowski, J. G. (2012). Maternal history of parentification, maternal warm responsiveness, and children's externalizing behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(5), 767. 
  • Nuttall, A., Valentino, K., Wang, L., Lefever, J., & Borkowski, J. (2015). Maternal history of parentification and warm responsiveness: The mediating role of knowledge of infant development. Journal of Family Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000112
  • Nuttall, A. K., Zhang, Q., Valentino, K., & Borkowski, J. G. (2019). Intergenerational risk of parentification and infantilization to externalizing moderated by child temperament. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(3), 648-661. doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12562 
  • Schatz-Stevens, J. N., Cockburn, B. S., Lefever, J. E. B., & Borkowski, J. G. (2015). The role of physiological regulation in understanding the influence of child abuse potential on children’s behavioral problems. NHSA Dialog, 18.
  • Smith, L. E. (2006). Early Parenting Trajectories and Children’s Language Development: Differences Between Adolescent and Adult Mothers (Dissertation). University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1172114531&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1291218139&clientId=8424
  • Smith, L. E., Akai, C. E., Klerman, L. V., & Keltner, B. R. (2010). What mothers don’t know and doctors don’t say: Detecting early developmental delays. Infant Mental Health Journal, 31(4), 455–466. doi:10.1002/imhj.20266 
  • Smith, L. E., & Howard, K. S. (2008). Continuity of Paternal Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among New Mothers. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(5), 763–773. doi:0.1037/a0013581 

Research Themes