A bioecocultural approach to supporting adolescent mothers and their young children in conflict-affected contexts.
Dev Psychopathol
; 33(2): 714-726, 2021 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1217659
ABSTRACT
An estimated 12 million girls aged 15-19 years, and 777,000 girls younger than 15 give birth globally each year. Contexts of war and displacement increase the likelihood of early marriage and childbearing. Given the developmentally sensitive periods of early childhood and adolescence, adolescent motherhood in conflict-affected contexts may put a family at risk intergenerationally. We propose that the specifics of normative neuroendocrine development during adolescence, including increased sensitivity to stress, pose additional risks to adolescent girls and their young children in the face of war and displacement, with potential lifelong consequences for health and development. This paper proposes a developmental, dual-generational framework for research and policies to better understand and address the needs of adolescent mothers and their small children. We draw from the literature on developmental stress physiology, adolescent parenthood in contexts of war and displacement internationally, and developmental cultural neurobiology. We also identify culturally meaningful sources of resilience and provide a review of the existing literature on interventions supporting adolescent mothers and their offspring. We aim to honor Edward Zigler's groundbreaking life and career by integrating basic developmental science with applied intervention and policy.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pregnancy in Adolescence
/
Mothers
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
Dev Psychopathol
Journal subject:
Psychology
/
Psychiatry
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S095457942000156X
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