Marilyn B. Benoit, M.D.

Secretary, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Clinical Associate Professor, George Washington University Medical Center Department of Psychology

Psychological Factors

• The parents we are discussing are NOT adults

• Typically, they have not been adequately nurtured

• Sexual behavior masquerades as adult behavior--while meeting needs for closeness and nurturance

Psychological Factors

• Teenagers are impulsive and tend to seek immediate gratification

• A sense of future and the motivation to pursue future goals provides some restraint on impulses

• The prevailing "neighborhood" culture that finds teenage motherhood/fatherhood acceptable is facilitating

Psychological Factors

• Major Psychiatric Illness is a factor to be considered (Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Substance Abuse, Impulse Control Disorder).

• Mental Retardation, learning disabilities

Social Factors

• Non-judgmental attitudes about pre-marital sex and out of wedlock pregnancies are facilitating

• Teenagers need clear directives to counteract above

• Influence best achieved in context of nurturing relationship