This study comlpared pregnant adolescents intending to relinquish their infants, pregnant adolescents intending to parent, and parenting adolescents on measures of coping and psychosocial adjustment. Comparisons were also made either to a group ofnonpregnant adolescents or to norms. Pregnant adolescents intending to relinquish their infants showed better overall levels of self-image than pregnant adolescents intending to parent, and parenting adolescents. Parenting adolescents showed significantly more disruption in specific areas of psychosocial adjustment than pregnant adolescents intending to parent. These differences were discussed as target areas for intervention. The parenting experience also affected the types of coping strategies used by adolescents. Both groups, pregnant adolescents and nonpregnant adolescents, were more likely to use less active coping strategies than parenting adolescents. A negative relationship found between these less active forms of coping and psychosocial adjustment underscored the importance of targeting individual differences in adolescents' responses to the stressors of pregnancy and parenthood.
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