Exploring the role of coping mechanisms in the relationship between parenting stress and mental health among adolescent mothers in Zambia

Start Date

26-3-2021 2:20 PM

End Date

26-3-2021 2:30 PM

Description

Adolescent motherhood deserves more research attention because it is still highly prevalent, especially in lowand middle-income countries. It costs lives, and it comes at huge physical and mental health costs. Past research in these regions has predominantly focused on adolescent mothers’ physical health with less attention on their mental health.

To examine the roles of coping mechanisms (coping resources and coping styles) in the relationship between parenting stress and mental health of adolescent mothers, the study recruited 571 first time adolescent mothers, aged 13 to 19 years old, M=18.21, SD=0.94 (with babies between 0 to 9 months old, M=3.50, SD=2.80) from Lusaka- Zambia using disproportionate random sampling to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Participants completed measures of parenting stress, meta-parenting profile, resilience, social support, depression, wellbeing, sleep quality, religious coping, rumination, and parental locus of control (α =.70 - .94).

Preliminary results indicate significant relationships between parenting stress and depression (r = .11, p < 0.01), and between parenting stress and wellbeing (r = -.13, p < 0.01). It is also expected that a model fit will be well achieved in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).

Recommended Citation

Nakazwe, K. C. (2021, March). Exploring the role of coping mechanisms in the relationship between parenting stress and mental health among adolescent mothers in Zambia. Presented at the Postgraduate Conference on Interdisciplinary Learning: Re-Imagining Postgraduate Studies in the 21st Century and Beyond. Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

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Mar 26th, 2:20 PM Mar 26th, 2:30 PM

Exploring the role of coping mechanisms in the relationship between parenting stress and mental health among adolescent mothers in Zambia

Adolescent motherhood deserves more research attention because it is still highly prevalent, especially in lowand middle-income countries. It costs lives, and it comes at huge physical and mental health costs. Past research in these regions has predominantly focused on adolescent mothers’ physical health with less attention on their mental health.

To examine the roles of coping mechanisms (coping resources and coping styles) in the relationship between parenting stress and mental health of adolescent mothers, the study recruited 571 first time adolescent mothers, aged 13 to 19 years old, M=18.21, SD=0.94 (with babies between 0 to 9 months old, M=3.50, SD=2.80) from Lusaka- Zambia using disproportionate random sampling to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Participants completed measures of parenting stress, meta-parenting profile, resilience, social support, depression, wellbeing, sleep quality, religious coping, rumination, and parental locus of control (α =.70 - .94).

Preliminary results indicate significant relationships between parenting stress and depression (r = .11, p < 0.01), and between parenting stress and wellbeing (r = -.13, p < 0.01). It is also expected that a model fit will be well achieved in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).