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"She is a Mother, but still Childish". Exploring Adult Caregivers' Perspectives on Adolescent Parenting.

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Title: "She is a Mother, but still Childish". Exploring Adult Caregivers' Perspectives on Adolescent Parenting.
Authors: Berry, Lizette M.1,2,3 (AUTHOR) l.m.berry@uva.nl, Crone, Mathilde R.4,5 (AUTHOR), Mathews, Shanaaz2 (AUTHOR), Reis, Ria1,2,3,4 (AUTHOR)
Source: Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal. Feb2026, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p13-28. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Qualitative research, *Autonomy (Psychology), *Parent-child relationships, *Content analysis, *Parenting, *Family relations, *Research methodology, *Child rearing, *Interpersonal relations, *Caregiver attitudes, *Adults, Research funding, Mental health, Self-efficacy, Interviewing, Evaluation of human services programs, Psychological well-being, Descriptive statistics, Teenagers' conduct of life, Co-parents, Intergenerational relations
Geographic Terms: South Africa
Abstract: The adolescent-adult caregiver relationship is arguably one of the strongest influences on adolescent parents' development and parenting abilities. In Cape Town, South Africa, an evaluation of a parenting programme targeting school-going adolescent parents, considered the intervention effects on parenting and adolescent wellbeing, in three low-income communities. Adolescent parents resided with their adult caregivers. This paper draws on seventeen qualitative interviews with the caregivers of these adolescent parents. The qualitative interviews formed part of a wider parenting programme evaluation. This study explored the nature of the adolescent-caregiver relationship, and the potential effects of these relationships on adolescents' wellbeing and parenting competencies. The findings suggest that while caregivers played co-parenting roles, they were often not emotionally supportive, placed multiple demands on the adolescents, and portrayed authoritarian approaches. The adolescent-caregiver relationships were often complex, hierarchical, and reflected negative parenting. Caregiver behaviours possibly left adolescents feeling unsupported, restricted in their parental autonomy, and undermined. Caregivers reported adolescents' use of harsh discipline measures with their children. The findings highlight the indelible imprint that older generations, particularly those upholding traditional values, have on adolescent parents and their parenting. The authors conclude that caregiving environments that lack supportive interactions may lead to an elevated risk of compromised mental health and lowered parental competency for adolescent parents. Caregiver-adolescent relationship quality should be considered in interventions targeting adolescent parents. Interventions should be inclusive of adolescents' caregivers, emphasising that support relationships should nurture both the adolescent and their young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: "She is a Mother, but still Childish". Exploring Adult Caregivers' Perspectives on Adolescent Parenting.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Berry%2C+Lizette+M%2E%22">Berry, Lizette M.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> l.m.berry@uva.nl</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Crone%2C+Mathilde+R%2E%22">Crone, Mathilde R.</searchLink><relatesTo>4,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mathews%2C+Shanaaz%22">Mathews, Shanaaz</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Reis%2C+Ria%22">Reis, Ria</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Child+%26+Adolescent+Social+Work+Journal%22">Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p13-28. 16p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autonomy+%28Psychology%29%22">Autonomy (Psychology)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent-child+relationships%22">Parent-child relationships</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Content+analysis%22">Content analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parenting%22">Parenting</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Family+relations%22">Family relations</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+methodology%22">Research methodology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+rearing%22">Child rearing</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+relations%22">Interpersonal relations</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Caregiver+attitudes%22">Caregiver attitudes</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adults%22">Adults</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health%22">Mental health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-efficacy%22">Self-efficacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interviewing%22">Interviewing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evaluation+of+human+services+programs%22">Evaluation of human services programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+well-being%22">Psychological well-being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teenagers'+conduct+of+life%22">Teenagers' conduct of life</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Co-parents%22">Co-parents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intergenerational+relations%22">Intergenerational relations</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africa%22">South Africa</searchLink>
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  Data: The adolescent-adult caregiver relationship is arguably one of the strongest influences on adolescent parents' development and parenting abilities. In Cape Town, South Africa, an evaluation of a parenting programme targeting school-going adolescent parents, considered the intervention effects on parenting and adolescent wellbeing, in three low-income communities. Adolescent parents resided with their adult caregivers. This paper draws on seventeen qualitative interviews with the caregivers of these adolescent parents. The qualitative interviews formed part of a wider parenting programme evaluation. This study explored the nature of the adolescent-caregiver relationship, and the potential effects of these relationships on adolescents' wellbeing and parenting competencies. The findings suggest that while caregivers played co-parenting roles, they were often not emotionally supportive, placed multiple demands on the adolescents, and portrayed authoritarian approaches. The adolescent-caregiver relationships were often complex, hierarchical, and reflected negative parenting. Caregiver behaviours possibly left adolescents feeling unsupported, restricted in their parental autonomy, and undermined. Caregivers reported adolescents' use of harsh discipline measures with their children. The findings highlight the indelible imprint that older generations, particularly those upholding traditional values, have on adolescent parents and their parenting. The authors conclude that caregiving environments that lack supportive interactions may lead to an elevated risk of compromised mental health and lowered parental competency for adolescent parents. Caregiver-adolescent relationship quality should be considered in interventions targeting adolescent parents. Interventions should be inclusive of adolescents' caregivers, emphasising that support relationships should nurture both the adolescent and their young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10560-025-01020-2
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 13
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autonomy (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent-child relationships
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Content analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parenting
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      – SubjectFull: Family relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child rearing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal relations
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      – SubjectFull: Caregiver attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Adults
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      – SubjectFull: Research funding
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      – SubjectFull: Mental health
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      – SubjectFull: Self-efficacy
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      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Teenagers' conduct of life
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      – SubjectFull: Co-parents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intergenerational relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: South Africa
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: "She is a Mother, but still Childish". Exploring Adult Caregivers' Perspectives on Adolescent Parenting.
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              Text: Feb2026
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              Y: 2026
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