Coping Skills Training for School-Age Mothers

This study reports the development and evaluation of a program to increase adolescent mothers' ability to cope by promoting their interpenonal and cognitive skill and social supports. Program development efforts identified high-stress situations for young mothers and informed construction of a skills-training program to improve direct and indirect methods for handling stressful situations. Adolescent mothers in the program more than a comparison group of teenage mothers report improved self-reinforcement and interpersonal problem-solving after the groups and at 4-month follow-up. Videotape performance measures indicated that trained participants increased their interpersonal skills for buildmg and keeping social supports. Self-reports of social supports and parenting skill showed modest posttest gains but significant improvement by follow-up. Measures of well-being show change for participants with the lowest well-being at pretest. Consumer ratings were favorable. These results argue that social and cognitive skills training can increase social supports and perceptions of parenting skill and enhance well-being for those mothers at greatest risk.