The relationship between the adolescent mother's family system and the father's involvement with the adolescent mother and their child

This study evaluated the relationship between adolescent mothers' family functioning and fathers' involvement with the adolescent mothers and their children. It was expected, that in families with greater overall family well-being fathers would have more contact with the adolescent mothers and their children as well as more involvement in their children's care. It was also expected that the mothers' desire for father involvement and the fathers' involvement in high risk behaviors would influence the fathers' visitation, contact, and participation in caretaking.; Participants were 75 adolescent mothers, who gave birth to their first children between the ages of 13 and 19 and lived with their family-of-origin for half of their children's first year. They were recruited in public places or from nine sites that provide health care, case-management, or schooling to adolescent mothers. Family functioning was assessed by the Colorado Self-Report Measure of Family Functioning (CSRMFF), the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) Problem Solving Scale, and the Family Acceptance Scale which was developed by the researcher. The mother's desire for father involvement and the father's involvement in caretaking were assessed by the Who Does What? Scale. Father contact was assessed by the Father Financial Involvement and Visitation Form developed by the researcher. The father's involvement in high risk behaviors was assessed with the Father Behavior Form developed for this study.; The findings suggest a relationship between: (a) the adolescent mother's family functioning, and (b) the amount the family accepts the father, and (c) the amount of contact the father had with the mother and child as well as his participation in child care. The findings also suggest that other factors--the mother's desire for father involvement, the father's alcohol use, and the father's illegal drug use--were important in understanding father involvement. The results indicate that different aspects of family functioning were important in understanding father contact versus father involvement.