An Effectiveness Study: A School-Based Skills-Building Group Toward Self-Sufficiency
with Pregnant and Parenting Adolescent Mothers
Mary Beth Harris
School of Social Work
New Mexico Highlands University
PO Box 9000
Las Vegas NM 87701-9000
505-454-3563
FAX: 505-454-3290
mbhrrs@aol.com
Cynthia Franklin
School of Social Work
The University of Texas at Austin
1925 San Jacinto Blvd.
Austin TX 78701
512-260-2985
FAX: 512-471-9600
cfranklin@mail.utexas.edu
Social policy changes in the 1990s have reduced public financial support
for adolescent mothers and their children. With continued higher
adolescent pregnancy rates and a higher degree of school dropout, Mexican
American youth may be more vulnerable to adverse consequences than adolescents
in other ethnic groups. School-based programs need interventions
that can help Mexican American adolescent mothers strengthen their probability
of attaining economic self-sufficiency. School achievement has been
demonstrated a dominant predictor of self-sufficiency, with grades and
attendance as strong indicators. As well, adolescent mothers with
problem-focused coping patterns and strong problem-solving skills have
been found to achieve better overall life adjustment.
A school-based skills-building group intervention was tested with a
sample of 86 Mexican American pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers.
Subjects were randomly assigned to treatment or control. The Social
Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised, Short Form (SPSI-R) measured social
problem-solving skills. Subscales of the Adolescent Coping Orientation
for Problem Experiences (A-COPE) measured problem-focused coping behavior.
Data from school records measured grades and attendance. Measurement
was done at pretest, posttest, and 30-day follow-up. A multivariate
analysis of covariance found significance at posttest, and an analysis
of covariance was subsequently calculated for each outcome variable.
The experimental group had significantly better scores on all dependent
measures than the control group. Significance maintained at 30-day
follow-up, with a seven-point higher grade average and an 11% higher rate
of school attendance in the experimental group than in the control group.