Patterns of Symptoms of Perinatal Depression and Stress in Late Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To compare symptoms of depression, maternal adjustment, and perceived stress in late adolescent and young adult mothers and to examine the patterns of these symptoms during the first 3 months after birth.

DESIGN: Secondary analysis of existing longitudinal data.

SETTING: San Francisco Bay Area, with participants in their home environments.

PARTICIPANTS: Ethnically diverse women expecting their first infants recruited during the third trimester from childbirth education classes and antenatal clinics. The final sample included 34 participants in the late adolescent group (18-20 years) and 48 participants in the young adult group (21-24 years).

METHODS: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to assess depression symptoms, the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale was used to assess maternal adjustment, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess perceived stress. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to examine changes over time in depression, maternal adjustment, and perceived stress scores.

RESULTS: Compared with young adult participants, late adolescent participants had greater mean depression scores (F(1, 61)  = 8.02, p = .006) and perceived stress scores (F(1, 62)  = 9.45, p = .003) at all time points. Scores for maternal adjustment could not be compared because of the low internal validity of the instrument.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that late adolescent mothers may have more symptoms of depression and stress in late pregnancy and the early postpartum period than young adult mothers. Clinicians in maternity and pediatric settings should be vigilant in screening for depression and stress in this vulnerable population during their transitions to motherhood.