1. Adolescent Mothers & Their Babies’ Fathers: Predictors of Paternal Involvement and Coparenting Christina B. Gee, Ph.D. Psychology Department http://home.gwu.edu/~cgee cgee@gwu.edu 202-994-7683

2. Adolescent Mother and the Fathers of Their Children U.S. has the highest adolescent birth rate among Western industrialized countries > 400,000 infants born to teens each year; 17% of 15-year-old girls give birth before 20 50% of fathers have no contact with adolescent mother at 8 months postpartum Child support decreases (80% 1 st yr after delivery; 1/3 after 4 yrs; 1/6 after 6 years)

3. Research Agenda Examine impact of social support for adolescent mothers’ psychological adjustment – Siblings, Partners/Fathers, Maternal grandmothers Examine predictors of father involvement – Father’s involvement during pregnancy and early postpartum – Relationship quality between parents – Maternal grandmothers support – Involvement with a new male partner Examine the development of coparenting processes during first postpartum year

4. Current Research NIMH K-01, 2004-2009 Participants: African American and Latino adolescent mothers and fathers in DC metro area Inclusion criteria: African American or Latino/a; English or Spanish speaking; Mothers ages 13-19, pregnant with first child Procedure: One-on-one interviews in 3 rd trimester, 6 months postpartum, 1 year postpartum Measures – Father Involvement and Coparenting – Adolescent mother and fathers’ relationship quality – Social support from baby’s maternal and paternal grandparents – Racial identity and acculturation – Parenting Stress – Psychopathology (i.e., depression, anxiety, substance abuse) Status: Currently collecting data at community sites