Twenty-two rural adolescent mothers and their infants were subjects in a quasi-experimental study to evaluate the impact of a mother education program. Ten, one-hour classes on child care and development were offered for the eight mothers in the treatment group. Pretest and posttest scores on the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding and Teaching Scales (NCAFS and NCATS) and the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME) were used to measure change. Total scores on the NCAFS and NCATS did not show change at a significant level when t-tests were performed. The HOME total score for the treatment group did show a positive change that was significant at the 0.01 level of confidence.

It can be concluded that mother education classes are effective in improving the mother's awareness of the needs of her baby, in responding to those needs, in providing age-appropriate play materials, and in avoiding unnecessary restrictions on the baby's exploratory behavior. The treatment group mothers showed evidence of increasing interaction with and stimulation of their babies.

Recommendations resulting from this study include: further study to determine the long-range effects of intervention in adolescent mother-infant interaction patterns and ongoing programs for mother education in the school system. Other curricula should be tested to assess the relative effectiveness of differing approaches to mother education.