Table 1.
Studies investigating pregnant adolescents and their use of tobacco and alcohol (N = 40)
| Authors | Design | Sample | Research focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pregnant adolescents and tobacco use (N = 15) | |||
| Albrecht et al. (1998) | Experimental (RCT)design with three groups | N = 84 smoking pregnant adolescents, aged 12–20 years | Examined use of peer support in the Teen FreshStart smoking cessation intervention for pregnant adolescents |
| Albrecht et al. (1999a) | Experimental, ex post facto design (from Albrecht et al. 1998 RCT study) | N = 53 pregnant smoking teens, aged 14–20 years (in intervention groups, Albrecht et al. 1998) | Compared characteristics of pregnant adolescents who decided to complete a smoking cessation intervention (n = 41) with pregnant teens who did not complete the intervention (n = 12) by examining familial, peer and interpersonal factors |
| Albrecht et al. (1999b) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 94 pregnant adolescent smokers | Measured the nicotine dependence of pregnant adolescent smokers collected from baseline data of adolescents enrolled in cessation intervention trial (unpublished report by Albrecht et al. 1995, cited in Albrecht et al. 1999b) |
| Albrecht et al. (2000) | Experimental (RCT) design with three groups | N = 71 pregnant adolescent smokers aged 13–19 years | Examined pregnant adolescents’ knowledge of the health risks of smoking for the pregnant mother and foetus in relation to their decisions to quit |
| Albrecht and Caruthers (2002) | Quantitative, descriptive (part of larger RCT tobacco intervention study) | N = 142 pregnant smoking teens aged 13–19 years | Described characteristics of pregnant adolescents who smoke and identified specific variables of tobacco use and possible indicators of long-term abstinence |
| Albrecht et al. (2006) | Experimental, longitudinal (1-year), RCT intervention | N = 142 pregnant smoking adolescents aged 14–19 years | Evaluation, short- and long-term, of the effectiveness of a smoking cessation intervention for pregnant adolescents computer randomised to three groups |
| Bottomley and Lancaster (2008) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 81 pregnant adolescents, smokers, quitters and never smokers | Examined the relationship between smoking and depressive symptoms in pregnant adolescents by comparing smokers and non-smokers during pregnancy at two time points |
| Cornelius et al. (1994a) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 199 pregnant adolescents aged 12–18 years | Examined tobacco use patterns over the course of pregnancy by comparing use before pregnancy and during the first and third trimesters |
| Cornelius et al. (1995) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 310 infants and adolescent mothers aged 12–18 years | Examined patterns of use of tobacco and marijuana among pregnant adolescents and the effects of these substances on infants |
| Cornelius et al. (2007) | Longitudinal correlational study with 6-year follow-up | N = 357 pregnant adolescent smokers and non-smokers aged 12–18 years | Investigated the behavioural effects of prenatal tobacco exposure on children at 6 years of age by collecting trimester-specific information from pregnant adolescents with smoking and non-smoking status and conducting 6-year follow-up |
| Delpishen et al. (2005) | Quantitative, retrospective cohort analysis | N = 534 births of adolescent mothers 19 years or younger | Retrospective hospital records study to determine prevalence of smoking among adolescent pregnancies and compare smoking status with low birthweight (compared with 8972 adults who gave birth during the same time) |
| Feltes (2007) | Secondary data analysis of baseline data from another longitudinal study | N = 108 pregnant smoking adolescents aged 14–19 years | Explored relationships between smoking dependence behaviour, depression anger and anxiety in pregnant adolescents |
| Lawson (1994) | Qualitative, descriptive | N = 20 pregnant adolescents aged 16–18 years | To understand the role smoking plays in the lives of pregnant adolescents |
| Leiner et al. (2007) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 163; 71 pregnant adolescents and 92 adolescent mothers | Examined pregnant adolescents’ knowledge of tobacco-related risks to children associated with smoking during and after pregnancy |
| Various smoking status | |||
| Seamark and Gray (1998) | Quantitative, comparative | N = 69; 36 pregnant adolescents and 33 non-pregnant adolescents | Compared the recorded smoking prevalence of pregnant adolescents with non-pregnant adolescents based on records from one private general practice |
| Pregnant adolescents and alcohol use (N = 5) | |||
| Cornelius et al. (1999) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 413 offspring of adolescents aged 12–18 years | Examined the effects of alcohol use during pregnancy on growth and gestational age at birth of infants born to adolescents |
| Deardorff et al. (2005) | Quantitative, retrospective (using path analysis) | N = 666 young women aged 18–22 who had been pregnant in the past | Examined the role of alcohol in the timing of sexual activity and pregnancy among early-maturing adolescent girls |
| DeGenna et al. (2007) | Quantitative, retrospective and cross-sectional | N = 413 pregnant adolescents aged 12–18 years; N = 357 captured 6 years later; study based on 6-year follow-up cohort | Examined the effects of early and adverse experiences with alcohol and sex on adolescent drinking the year before and during pregnancy in adolescent mothers at the 6-year postpartum phase |
| Rhodes et al. (1994) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 183 pregnant adolescents aged 11–19 years | Reported frequency and intensity of drinking alcohol by African American, Hispanic and white pregnant adolescents and determined the extent to which these women quit, reduced or continued to use alcohol during pregnancy |
| Weimann and Berenson (1998) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 378 pregnant adolescents | Identified risk factors for alcohol use among pregnant adolescents who reported alcohol use in the last 30 days, those who discontinued use by first prenatal visit and non-users |
| Pregnant adolescents and polysubstance use (N = 20) | |||
| Albrecht et al. (2002) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 53 pregnant smoking adolescents; aged 12–19 years | Examined the correlations between constructs from family, school (connectedness) and protective individual characteristics with health risk behaviours (tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use) in pregnant adolescents |
| Barnet et al. (1995) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 125 adolescent mothers aged 12–18 | Examined the correlations between prevalence of substance use in the first 4 months postpartum and factors such as depressive symptoms, stress and social support in adolescent mothers |
| Berry et al. (2000) | Quantitative, retrospective, longitudinal cohort | N = 1541 women who reported a pregnancy younger than age 19 from among 5053 adolescent females aged 14–21 in the Nat Longitudinal Youth Survey | Examined the risk (substance use) and protective factors for specific ethnic groups regarding adolescent pregnancy (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, American Indian) |
| De Genna et al. (2009) | Quantitative, longitudinal, correlational | N = 445 pregnant adolescents aged 12–18 years with follow-up 6 and 10 years postpartum | Examined the tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use prevalence among adolescent mothers at 6 years and 10 years postpartum |
| Gilchrist et al. (1996) | Quantitative, longitudinal, descriptive | N = 229 pregnant adolescents under 18 years | Investigated patterns of adolescent mothers’ substance use (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and illicit drugs) pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and 6, 12 and 18 months postpartum |
| Gillmore et al. (2006) | Quantitative, longitudinal, descriptive | N = 233 unmarried pregnant adolescents aged 17 and younger | Investigated substance use trends in unmarried pregnant adolescents from year 3.5 to 11.5 postpartum to determine patterns of use, how they compared with national trends and whether these mothers ‘mature out’ of substance use in adulthood |
| Hussey et al. (1992) | Quantitative, descriptive, prospective study | N = 241 pregnant adolescents 17 years and younger | Identified the factors related to tobacco use during pregnancy among pregnant adolescents |
| Kaiser and Hays (2005) | Quantitative, descriptive, prospective study | N = 145 pregnant adolescents aged 15–18 years | Assessed the frequency of prenatal health-risk behaviours, including substance use (tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs) among first-time pregnant adolescents in mid-West United States |
| Kokotailo et al. (1992) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 229 pregnant adolescents younger than 18 years | Determined the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol and other drug use among pregnant adolescents attending a pregnancy programme at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore |
| Kokotailo et al. (1994) | Quantitative, descriptive, prospective study | N = 119 pregnant adolescents under age 21 | Determined prevalence of tobacco, alcohol and drug use during pregnancy among pregnant adolescents in a small city in Wisconsin |
| Lohr et al. (1992) | Quantitative, descriptive, retrospective and prospective study | N = 241 pregnant adolescents 17 years and younger | Examined factors associated with substance use (alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and other illicit drugs) among pregnant adolescents and how use in previous year was affected by the pregnancy |
| McDonell et al. (2007) | Experimental (RCT) with 24-month follow-up | N = 197; 107 treatment adolescents and 90 controls from South Carolina aged 18 and younger | Reported results from an intervention to improve social and educational outcomes for pregnant adolescents from low-income backgrounds by reducing substance abuse, repeat pregnancies and increasing school completion and sense of well-being |
| Morrison et al. (1998) | Quantitative, longitudinal | N = 255 pregnant, single adolescents aged 12–17 years, mean 16 years | To assess the use of alcohol and drug use among pregnant and parenting adolescents and associated beliefs, intention and attitudes to substance use over time |
| Sangalang and Rounds (2005) | Quantitative, longitudinal programme evaluation | N = 91 pregnant and parenting adolescents aged 12–18 years | Investigated differences and changes in health behaviours of pregnant and parenting adolescents enrolled in an adolescent parenting programme in North Carolina |
| Scafidi et al. (1997) | Quantitative, descriptive, prospective study | N = 104 aged 13–21, mean age 18 years; 55 drug-using and 49 non-users | Identified the psychosocial stressors (especially depression) associated with adolescent pregnancy and drug use (including alcohol) |
| Spears et al. (2010) | Quantitative, longitudinal, secondary analysis of data (four time points) | N = 305 subsample of ethnic minority pregnant adolescents aged 13–18 years | Examined trajectory of substance use (nicotine, alcohol and marijuana) during pregnancy and postpartum among adolescent girls |
| Spears (2007) | Experimental | N = 305 pregnant adolescents; 222 = experimental and 83 = control group; aged 13–18 years | Examined the different trajectories of use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana by pregnant adolescents from pregnancy through the postpartum to explain the relationships between specific variables and adolescents’ substance use |
| Teagle and Brindis (1998) | Quantitative, descriptive, prospective study | N = 248 pregnant adolescents aged 15–19 years | Described the ethnic differences (African American and white people) in substance use (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, other drugs) by pregnant adolescents attending a prenatal clinic |
| Webbink et al. (2008) | Quantitative, retrospective, descriptive survey | N = 215 teen mothers and 286 twin sisters who had first child at age 20 or older | Analysed the causal effects and consequences of teenage childbearing on smoking, drinking and body size |
| Zoccolillo et al. (1997) | Quantitative, descriptive | N = 26 pregnant girls or mothers under 18 years | Examined the presence of conduct disorder and alcohol or drug dependence among adolescent mothers |