Self-differentiation and parenting stress in adolescent mothers. An exploratory study

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescent motherhood, a phenomenon that has a strong social impact, is explored, focusing particularly on the mother’s psychosocial development, parental role, skill, and parenting-related stress. Methods: This study aims to analyze the connection between maternal self- differentiation in first-time mothers (aged between 15 and 20 years old) and parenting stress levels, including some moderating variables, such as dyadic adjustment, maternal self-esteem, and perceived social support. Results: The analyses highlighted the following significant results: emotional cutoff and fusion with others are predictors of parenting stress (β = −0.38, p < 0.05, and β = 0.36, p = 0.05, respectively); emotional cutoff is also found to be a significant predictor of parent–child dysfunctional interaction (β = −0.42, p < 0.05), while fusion with others predicts a mother’s perception of her child as difficult (β = 0.39, p < 0.05); a predictive effect of the positive self-worth on a mother’s perception of having a difficult child is found (β = −0.37, p < 0.05); and a predictive effect of dyadic cohesion on a mother’s perception of having a difficult child (β = −0.40, p < 0.05) is found. Discussion: The results are discussed from a sociocultural perspective, and their implications on early motherhood, especially in Italy, are considered.