Monica Minter, BA¹, Ximena Pérez de León, BA¹, Nancy Amodei, PhD², Kayan L. Lewis, PhD¹, and Anthony Scott, PhD². (1) Community Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, Mail Code 7818, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, 210-567-7400, minterm@uthscsa.edu, (2) Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78384-7818

Maternal depression negatively impacts prenatal care and development, child development, and the mother-child relationship. Adolescent pregnant or parenting females are at particularly high-risk for depression as a result of psychological and social stressors associated with being pregnant or bearing a child at such a young age. Research targeting maternal depression and how it affects minority pregnant or parenting adolescents is vital to tailoring programs that address their needs. Project SUCCESS is a comprehensive prevention intervention program targeting primarily Hispanic, pregnant or parenting females, ages 14 to 18. It is designed to address general well-being, including depression, improve educational outcomes, reduce substance use, and prevent repeat pregnancy in adolescents. All participants were eligible for public assistance and attended a large urban school district in South Texas. Participants received either the school district’s standard parenting program or the intervention program consisting of a comprehensive prevention curriculum and intensive case management or intensive case management only. The current study will determine: 1) if depression levels are different among participants from baseline to 24 month follow-up and 2) the effect of the comprehensive prevention intervention on depression among participants by identifying the predictors of depression in pregnant or parenting teens. At the end of this presentation attendees will be able to: 1) recognize predictors of depression in pregnant or parenting adolescents, 2) understand the potential long-term impact of a multi-component intervention for attenuating negative consequences of adolescent maternal depression, and 3) use the knowledge gained to develop effective interventions for minority adolescent mothers.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to
• recognize predictors of depression in pregnant or parenting adolescents,
• understand the potential long-term impact of a multi-component intervention for attenuating negative consequences of adolescent maternal depression, and
• use the knowledge gained to develop effective interventions for minority adolescent mothers.

Keywords: Adolescents, Depression

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.