Social Support and Adaptation to the Parent Role in First‐time Adolescent Mothers

The relationship between social support and adaptation to parenthood for first‐time adolescent mothers was investigated in this descriptive correlational study. The outcomes of adaptation were defined as the synchrony of parent‐infant interaction and the level of stress related to parenting. A nonprobability sample of 18 adolescent, first‐time mothers who had an uncomplicated perinatal experiences and delivered healthy, term newborns were selected. Data were collected during a home interview at one month postpartum. The measure of social support was significantly related to parent‐infant reciprocity. Total functional support scores were inversely, but not significantly, correlated with total scores of stress related to parenting (r =—.31). Finally, the measure of reciprocity and the measure of stress related to parenting were inversely but not significantly related.