RESUMO
PIP: There has been a gradual decline in the number of unwanted pregnancies among sexually experienced teenagers since the early 1970s. The proportion of pregnant youths who marry before giving birth, however, is also declining. The authors describe the efficacy of a year-long peer intervention program to ameliorate stressors and enhance parent competencies among pregnant or parenting adolescent women. 57 pregnant or parenting lower-income young women were recruited for the study from two alternative education facilities for pregnant or parenting teens in the Detroit, Michigan, metropolitan area. 29 subjects of mean age 16.5 years were matched with senior-level undergraduate psychology student peer advocates at Wayne State University. The other 28 female adolescents of mean age 16.0 years served as controls. Demographic data were collected and personality inventories assessed both before and after the intervention period. It was found at post-test that mothers in the group not exposed to the intervention were significantly bothered by their infants' behaviors, but intervention group mothers were only slightly bothered. While both groups showed a decrease in the positive perceptions of their infants, the decrease was significantly greater for the control group at post-test. The authors consider the implications of these findings and offer directions for future research.^ieng