Analyzing the Effectiveness of Teen Parenting Intervention Programs (Research Paper Sample)

Analyzing the Effectiveness of Teen Parenting Intervention Programs
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Analyzing the Effectiveness of Teen Parenting Intervention Programs
1. Introduction
The term parenting is often used to describe the actions of individuals who take care of their children. Good parenting is the totality of a parent's interactions and activities with their child and is driven by a sense of purpose and long-term goals, i.e., parents are usually the ones responsible for their children's activities, homework, social lives, etc. Most people would probably picture an adult when talking about parenting, but what about teen parents? They are parents too, and their responsibilities are just as great as an adult's.
Essentially, teen parenting is how teenagers care for their young children. It involves the activities, decisions, and responsibilities they have as parents. It includes everything from raising the child to understanding their developmental stages. Remember that the teenage years are when a person is building their identity, and often their parents are not the most important people in their lives. Most teenage parents experience a great deal of stress and strain when raising their children, and they sometimes turn to their parents for support. However, their parents may not have all the answers and may sometimes find it challenging to help. For this reason, a non-profit organization provided urban teenage parents with an eight-week parenting class. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the organization's intervention program.
1.1 Problem Statement and Program Overview
The teenage pregnancy epidemic has led to a crisis in many nation's health systems. Today, almost half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and in the year 2020, an estimated 45% of women in the United States had unplanned pregnancies CITATION Isa19 \l 1033 (Isabel, 2019). These numbers have far-reaching impacts, including increased risks of pre-natal and maternal mortality, low birth weight babies, and increased rates of substance use, depression, and other negative health outcomes. At the same time, these numbers also place a significant strain on the criminal justice system, resulting in increased incarceration of mothers and babies, extended family separation, and other collateral consequences. Many organizations are coming out to avoid teenage pregnancies and to support teenage parents.
In this case study, the agency's services were available to both teenage mothers and teenage fathers, and their children could be of any age. Referrals for participants came from local schools, social service agencies, healthcare facilities, and the Department of Children and Family Services. The program's interventions included a weekly parenting class covering topics such as effective communication with children, early childhood development, compassionate behavioral management strategies, and stress management. The program's anticipated outcomes were i) a deeper comprehension of child development, ii) a stronger sense of parental competence, iii) reduced levels of perceived stress, and iv) belief in humane behavior management approaches instead of harsh punishment.
Hypotheses Formulation
Null Hypothesis (H01): The intervention program does not improve teenage parents' knowledge about child development.
Alternative Hypothesis (H11): The intervention program improves teenage parents' knowledge about child development.
Null Hypothesis (H02): The intervention program does not improve teen parents' sense of parenting competence.
Alternative Hypothesis (H12): The intervention program improves teen parents' sense of parenting competence.
Null Hypothesis (H03): The intervention program does not reduce teenage parents' reported stress levels.
Alternative Hypothesis (H13): The intervention program does help reduce teenage parents' reported stress levels.
Null Hypothesis (H04): The intervention program does not work for adolescent parents to help them develop attitudes that are consistent with compassionate behavior management rather than physical punishment.
Alternative Hypothesis (H14): The intervention program works for adolescent parents to help them develop attitudes that are