Abstract:
The purposes of this descriptive research were to describe daily hassles and
maternal role adaptation and to examine factors affecting the maternal role
adaptation of adolescent mothers. The participants were 100 primiparous adolescents
within 4-8 weeks postpartum with normal delivery. Both the mothers and the babies
were healthy and living in Nakhonphanom Province. Data was collected from July
to September 2003. Statistical analysis used was descriptive statistics: Pearson’s
Product Moment Correlation and Stepwise Multiple Regression.
The findings demonstrated that the primiparous adolescents’ daily hassles
was at a moderate level; socioeconomic aspect was the highest level daily hassle.
Maternal role adaptation was at a fairly good level. Maternal role adaptation was
negatively related to daily hassles and extended family (r = -. 286, -. 215; p < .01,
.05, respectively) and positively associated to mothers with past infant care
experience (r = .265, p < .01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that, daily
hassles, infant care experience, and type of family together accounted for 20.8 % of
variance in maternal role adaptation of the primiparous adolescents (p < .05).
The results suggested that nurses should assess daily hassles of the
primiparous adolescent, particularly the adolescent mothers who had no experience
in infant care and who live with extended family members. In order to provide
knowledge, instructions, and suggestions to these mothers to prevent and reduce
daily hassles, nurses should encourage adolescent mothers to practice childcare
activities in order to be more adaptive to a maternal role.