This study aimed to determine if Cognitive Readiness to Parent and History of Maltreatment predicted Negative Attribution in first-time mothers who are teens (aged 14-19) as well as adult low education (aged 21-36 with less than two years of post-secondary education) and adult high education mothers (aged 21-36 with two or more years of post-secondary education). The mothers were measured on their Cognitive Readiness to Parent, History of Maltreatment and Negative Attribution. The mothers were assessed at three time points: prenatally (during their last trimester of pregnancy), when their child was 6 months old, and when their child was 8 months old. During the prenatal assessments, the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI), the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI), and the Parenting Style Expectations Questionnaire (PS) were administered. When the child was 6 months old, the mothers were given the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and when the child was 8 months old, the Attribution Style Measure for Parents (ASMP) was administered. Results indicated that Cognitive Readiness to Parent was more predictive of Negative Attribution than was a History of Maltreatment for all mom types. When both constructs were combined into a statistical model, a History of Maltreatment did not significantly predict Negative Attribution beyond Cognitive Readiness to Parent. Additionally, the CAPI (Child Abuse Potential Inventory) and the Parenting Style measure (Parenting Style Expectations Questionnaire) were the strongest predictors of Negative Attribution. The results indicate that first-time mothers who are teens and adult with low education may benefit most from child development and parenting style education.