# HORMONES AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TEENAGE PREGNANCY

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 1992 · $224,455

## Abstract

The unique purpose of the present proposal is to examine the relations
among steroids of adrenal and gonadal origin, psychological characteristics
(emotions and personality), and environmental factors (social support,
family environment, and life events) during pregnancy and relate these
processes to the psychological functioning of the adolescent's mother in
the early postpartum period, as well as to labor and delivery complications
and health status of the infant. Three hypotheses will be tested: (1)
Short-term increases in cortisol levels in response to novel and
challenging situations, (2) Lower levels of estradiol, testosterone and
higher levels of cortisol and androstenedione, and (3) Higher levels of
negative emotions and negative personality characteristics will predict
negative emotions and personality characteristics in the postpartum period,
as well as labor and delivery complications, and poor infant health status.
The sample will consist of 75 nonurban, 12- to 19-year-old pregnant
adolescent, and a comparison group of 75 nonpregnant adolescents. Data will
be obtained in the 12th and 32nd week of pregnancy, at labor and delivery,
and in the third week postpartum. Serum and saliva will be used to
determine levels of gonadal and adrenal steroids and cortisol. The
psychological, environmental, and infant status variables will be assessed
by standardized questionnaires, medical records, and interviews. The
proposed study will extend the field in three major ways: (a) Assessing
both biological and behavioral processes, prospectively, will give a more
comprehensive picture of the contributors to poor adolescent pregnancy
outcomes than has been available in the past, (b) Including nonurban
adolescents will yield findings generalizable to the largest group of
adolescents who become pregnant in the U.S. and, (c) Assessing longitudinal
changes from early pregnancy to the postpartum period has the potential for
generating findings with implications for preventing problems in the
developing fetus, as well as preparing the immature adolescent mother for
her future demanding parenting role.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2199814
- **Project number:** 5R01HD026004-03
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NPM2J7MSCF61
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth J. Susman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $224,455
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1990-09-01 → 1995-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2199814

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2199814, HORMONES AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TEENAGE PREGNANCY (5R01HD026004-03). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2199814. Licensed CC0.

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