Stability of Resilience in Children of Adolescent Mothers Keri Weed University of South Carolina Aiken Deborah Keogh, and John Borkowski University of Notre Dame

Abstract The current study examined the stability of resilience in a longitudinal sample of children born to adolescent mothers. 104 children were classified as resilient or vulnerable at age five based on competence in intellectual, adaptive behavior, and psychosocial domains. Three years later these same children were reassessed. 71% retained their resiliency status from age five. Resiliency status at age eight was dependent upon children’s intelligence scores at age five and changes in maternal adversity between the ages of five and eight. Children who moved from vulnerable at age five to resilience at age eight had higher intelligence scores at age five and mothers with improved adjustment. The only predictor of loss of resilience was intelligence at age five. Results suggest the importance of early development for establishing pathways toward resilience.

Introduction The purpose of the current research was to investigate the stability of resilience from age five to eight in a sample of children born to adolescent mothers. We believe that early challenging experiences compete, accumulate, and initiate a pathway toward resilience or vulnerability (Waddington, 1975). With age, developmental trajectories become more firmly entrenched, making deviations more difficult. It is unclear to what extent these developmental pathways have become entrenched by age five. Changes in the level of adversity between the ages of five and eight may be directly related to children’s adaptation and outcomes at age eight. Alternatively, early experiences may have initiated a trajectory toward positive or negative adaptation that resists diversion by intervening environmental events.

Participants n 135 primiparous adolescent mothers from the Notre Dame Parenting Project and their children n 66.7% African-American, 26.7% Caucasian, 6.7% Hispanic n Majority from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (M = 55.3, with a range from 15 to 73 on Hollingsworth 2- factor index). n 58% of the sample was in 11th or 12th grade at the time of childbirth (range from 7 th grade to first year of college) n average age of 17.1 with a range from 14 to 19.6 n 23% lived with both parents, 55.8% lived with a single mother, and 3% with a single father at the time of childbirth n Complete eight-year data is available for 104 of the 135 dyads (77%). Attrition was unrelated to maternal risk or to child status at age five. However, African Americans and Hispanics were retained at a somewhat higher rate (78% and 100%) than Caucasians (69%)

Procedure Adolescent mothers in the current sample were participants in the Notre Dame Parenting Project, an ongoing longitudinal study (cf. Whitman et al., 2001). Participants were initially interviewed during the last trimester of their pregnancy or within one-week postpartum. All participants were seen in a university laboratory setting when the children were five and eight years of age. Mothers and children participated in several joint activities, and were subsequently interviewed separately. Mothers completed a life history questionnaire, a measure of social support, and several measures of psychosocial adjustment. Children completed a variety of cognitive and achievement tests. The session lasted about three hours. Mothers were paid up to $100 for their participation, and children received a small gift.

Maternal Resiliency Index Maternal resilience was based on an index which was comprised of seven social and socioemotional outcomes at five years postpartum (Weed, Keogh, & Borkowski, 2000): high school graduation, current educational endeavors, current job status, employment history, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Table 1 describes the specific criteria used to define each outcome. Young mothers received one point for reaching each outcome criterion. Those achieving at least five out of seven possible points were considered resilient whereas those with less than five points were considered vulnerable.

Table 1 Maternal Resiliency Index

Child Resiliency Index Three criteria were considered in the classification of the five-year-old children as resilient: intelligence, adaptive behavior, and behavior problems. Children who scored within one standard deviation of the mean of 100 (i.e., over 84) on both intelligence and adaptive behavior and below the borderline clinical cutoff on behavior problems were considered resilient, whereas children who failed to meet any one of these three criterion were considered vulnerable. Reading was added as a fourth criteria at age eight. Adequate performance in all areas implies children are within the normal range of cognitive and behavioral functioning for their age levels.

Results A logistic regression model was used to test the resistance of the trajectories established at age five to the degree of changes in maternal adversity after age five. Resilience status at age five was indexed by children’s intelligence, adaptive behavior, and psychosocial adjustment scores. Scores in each of these domains were entered into the regression model to represent the initial trajectory toward resilience or vulnerability. Changes in the adversity of the caregiving environment was based on the difference in maternal status at age five and eight.

Table 2 Intercorrelations and descriptive statistics

Table 3 Stability of resilience from age five to age eight χ 2 (1, N=104) = 11.10, p <.001

Table 4 Stability of resilience from age five to age eight by gender χ2 (1, n=57)= 6.67, p <.01χ2 (1, n=47)= 4.97, p <.03

Table 5 Stability of resilience from age five to age eight by race χ2 (1, n=25)= 9.56, p <.01χ2 (1, n=70)= 3.90, p <.05

Table 6 Stability of resilience from age five to age eight by maternal adversity χ2 (1, n=40)= 9.61, p <.01 χ2 (1, n=40)= 4.61, p <.05 χ2 (1, n=24)=.01, n/s

Table 7 Logistic regression analysis of resiliency status at age eight Resilient (n = 26) Vulnerable (n = 78) 22 pOdds Ratio Conf. limits Intelligence at age (10.97) (13.10) 19.05< Adaptive behavior (8.80) (9.42).83>.1 Behavior problems (6.04) (9.15) 2.14>.1 Changes in adversity.35 (.75).08 (.89)

Summary and conclusions n Of those children considered vulnerable at age five, less than 15% were reclassified as resilient at eight. n Close to 55% of resilient children were considered vulnerable by age eight. n Intelligence at age five was the strongest predictor of eight-year resilience. n Sandler (2001) conceived of adversity as threats to children’s basic needs and goals and barriers to achieving competence, and suggested that “resilience operates through changing the quality and ecology of adverse conditions”. From this perspective, children with higher levels of intelligence may be better able to overcome the threats and barriers and manage to fulfill their needs and achieve competence.

n Changes in level of maternal adversity differentiated vulnerable five-year-old children who became resilient from the majority of those who maintained their vulnerable status. n Positive changes to maternal social and psychosocial adjustment during middle childhood may contribute to improved child competence.