Date of Award:

5-1988

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Glendon Casto

Committee

Glendon Casto

Committee

Elwin Nielsen

Committee

Michael Bertoch

Committee

Bernard Hayes

Abstract

Pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers are a population at risk to a variety of negative social, economic, and psychological consequences. Numerous group interventions have been designed to improve the psychological adjustment of pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers. However, there has been a paucity of research evaluating the efficacy of these interventions. This research was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the development group intervention. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of this intervention upon the psychological adjustment of the participants.

Thirty-two subjects (16 experimental and 16 comparison) enrolled in two alternative public high schools in Ogden, Utah, participated in the study. Demographic data were obtained for all subjects prior to the initiation of the study.

All subjects completed a battery of self-report questionnaires prior to the development group intervention. This battery was comprised of the following assessment instruments: Revised Kaplan Scale, Adolescent Life Change Event Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Wazlavek Support Scale. At the end of the 14-week intervention period, all participants again completed the self-report assessment battery.

No statistically significant differences were found between the experimental group and the comparison group. However, development group attendance was significantly positively correlated with posttest levels of perceived social support. There is indication that married adolescents may benefit more from the development group experience than single adolescents.

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