Prevalence and correlates of psychopathology in pregnant adolescents

doi:10.1016/1054-139X(95)00099-E

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 18, Issue 1, January 1996, Pages 35-43

https://doi.org/10.1016/1054-139X(95)00099-E Get rights and content

Purpose:

To investigate the prevalence and correlates of psychopathology, as measured by the Youth Self-Report Scale, in pregnant adolescents so that interventions during pregnancy may be tailored to treat the psychopathology and thereby improve maternal and child outcomes.

Methods:

Scores on seven psychologic syndromes (withdrawn, delinquent, aggressive behaviors; anxiety/ depression; and social, thought, and attention problems) were compared for groups of pregnant adolescents (n = 185), never pregnant teenagers (n = 126), and previously published normative samples of clinically referred (n = 518) and nonreferred (n = 518) female adolescents using chi-square, Student's t-tests, analysis of covariance, or multiple logistic regression. Correlates of psychopathology were identified for the pregnant sample using odds ratios and 95% confidence limits.

Results:

Pregnant adolescents exhibited less serious or lower rates of psychopathology than groups against which they were compared. Correlates of psychopathology included substance use during pregnancy, prior assault, maternal childbirth before age 18 years, ethnicity, ≥ 3 sexual partners, and absence of a relationship with the baby's father.

Conclusions:

Although the prevalence of psychopathology was lower among pregnant patients, those who exhibit psychopathology are likely to engage in risky health behaviors that contribute to poor perinatal outcome.

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Citation Excerpt :
Additionally, the mean score on the self-report State-Trait Anxiety Inventory24 suggested anxiety was higher among the sample of pregnant adolescents than in benchmark scores from a community sample of adolescent females (study did not report significance tests). Self-reported symptoms of psychopathology (Youth Self Report, YSR)25 did not differ between pregnant versus non-pregnant adolescents.26 The YSR does not measure psychiatric diagnoses per se, but reports the following syndromal scales: Withdrawn behavior, anxiety/depression, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, delinquent behavior, and aggressive behavior.
Pregnancy during adolescence is a risk factor for adverse medical and psychosocial outcomes, including psychiatric illness. Psychiatric illness is linked with obstetric complications along with impaired maternal functioning in the postpartum period. This article provides a comprehensive review of the research examining the intersection of psychopathology and adolescent pregnancy and the postpartum period.
A literature search was conducted using PubMed (Medline), PsycINFO, and CINAHL for articles published between 1990 and 2013 that examined depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and psychosis during pregnancy and the postpartum period in adolescents age 21 years or younger. Articles were selected that covered the following topics: Prevalence or incidence, comorbidity, psychosocial correlates, birth outcomes, parenting, child outcomes, and psychosocial treatment. Forty articles were found and reviewed.
There is a substantial research base examining self-reported depressive symptoms in adolescents during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Existing research suggests that pregnant and parenting adolescents are at greater risk for experiencing depressive symptoms than pregnant and postpartum adult women. Depression in the perinatal period is also a risk factor for substance and alcohol abuse and a harsher parenting style in adolescents. Areas for future research in this population include investigating the prevalence, psychosocial correlates, and outcomes of clinically diagnosed Major Depressive Disorder, developing and empirically validating psychotherapeutic treatments, and focusing upon other psychiatric diagnoses such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, and psychosis.
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: Presented in part at the Seventh Annual Meeting of The North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, April 16-18, 1993

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Original articlePrevalence and correlates of psychopathology in pregnant adolescents

Purpose:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusions:

Am J Obstet Gynecol

J Social Service Research

J Genet Psychol

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Clin Child Psychol

Prenatal emotional stress: Effects on the fetus

Stress and coping among pregnant adolescents

J Adolescent Research

Crisis events and school mental health referral patterns of young children

J Consult Clin Psychol

Depression in college students: Beyond the Beck Depression Inventory