Outcome Studies of the Taking Charge Group Intervention

The Taking Charge group curriculum was constructed with the best evidenced-based research available on adolescent motherhood. Outcome research on the Taking Charge group curriculum is ongoing. At the time of writing this book, three clinical studies have been completed on the Taking Charge group curriculum with a total of 139 young mothers. Pregnant and parenting students in three regular high schools, three alternative schools, and one dropout recovery program participated in the studies. Study 1 (n = 73) and Study 2 (n = 46) included multiple treatment groups, whereas Study 3 (n = 19) was done with one treatment group. This chapter discusses these three studies and their results. It also reviews the results from qualitative data that we have collected from participants in the studies as well as participants in two Taking Charge groups that were not included in these studies. These case study and focus group data provide a wealth of information on the mothers' life experiences and how different aspects of the Taking Charge curriculum are significant to the mothers' progress. Several case studies are presented that illustrate this data.