NCJ Number
205935
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 753-769
Editor(s)
Richard D. Krugman
Date Published
June 2001
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This trial study examined whether the addition of an intensive home visitation component to the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP) decreased the frequency with which dysfunctional parenting behavior resulted in a major disruption of primary care-giving by an identified high risk group of adolescent mothers.
Abstract
In part 1 of the study on adolescents at risk for mistreating their children, it was shown that participants in the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP) who scored 25 or higher on the Family Stress Checklist were more likely to mistreat their children. In this second part of the study, the objective was to determine whether adding an intensive home visitation component to CAMP would aid in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The study consisted of 171 participants involved in CAMP and deemed to be at high risk for child abuse and neglect. The participants were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups during their first postpartum visit to the CAMP clinic. Through a questionnaire and interviews, information was obtained on the pattern of health care service utilization and potentially confounding personal and environmental characteristics. Results indicate that compliance with home visits varied in relation to the support the teenage mothers received from their families and the fathers of their babies. There were no significant treatment group differences in the pattern of health care utilization, the rate of postpartum school return, repeat pregnancies, or child abuse and neglect. Consistent with most studies, the results did not support the efficacy of home visitation as a means of improving the life course development of adolescent mothers, or reducing the maltreatment of their children. References