RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
African American adolescent mothers and grandmothers
A multigenerational approach to parenting
Oberlander, S. E., Black, M. M., & Starr, R. H. (2007). African American adolescent mothers and grandmothers: A multigenerational approach to parenting. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39(1-2), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9087-2
This study is an adaptation and extension of Apfel and Seitz's (Family Relations, 40(4), 421-429, 1991) models of adolescent parenting and adolescent-grandmother relationships to a sample of 148 African American, first-time adolescent mothers and their 6-month-old infants. The Parental Supplemental model, in which adolescent mothers and grandmothers shared caregiving, described 63% of Apfel and Seitz's (1991) sample and 66% of the current sample. Shared caregiving was not associated with conflict in the adolescent mother-grandmother relationship. Adolescent mothers who had caregiving responsibilities and a supportive adolescent-grandmother relationship also reported competence in their parenting role. Findings provide support for Apfel and Seitz's Parental Apprentice model, in which young mothers gain competence through direct caregiving experience in the context of a supportive relationship.
