Risk and Protective Contexts of Goal Adjustment among Young Mothers in Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract:

Background: Adolescent motherhood disrupts the developmental pursuit of personally meaningful life goals, making goal adjustment, the capacity to disengage from unattainable goals and reengage with alternative ones, an important adaptive resource. However, little is known about the contextual factors that shape goal adjustment among young mothers in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective: This study examined the contributions of childhood trauma, father presence, religious commitment, attachment dimensions, and parent–adolescent relationship quality to goal disengagement and goal reengagement among young mothers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 266 young mothers aged 14–20 years (M = 18.09, SD = 1.62) purposively recruited from health facilities in Ondo West Local Government Area. Participants completed self-report measures of goal adjustment and the study predictors. Multiple regression analyses with HC3 heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors were performed. Results: The predictors explained 14.6% of the variance in goal disengagement and 43.4% of the variance in goal reengagement. Religious commitment emerged as the strongest positive predictor of goal reengagement, followed by father presence, secure attachment, and parent–adolescent relationship quality, whereas childhood trauma and dismissing attachment independently predicted lower reengagement. Dismissing attachment positively predicted goal disengagement, while father presence, religious commitment, and secure attachment were associated with lower disengagement, indicating greater persistence in attainable goals rather than premature withdrawal. Conclusion: Goal reengagement appears substantially more responsive to relational and spiritual resources than goal disengagement. The findings suggest that strengthening secure attachment, paternal involvement, supportive parent–adolescent relationships, and engagement with faith communities, while addressing childhood trauma, may enhance young mothers' capacity to reconstruct meaningful life goals following early motherhood.