SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES: THE EFFECTS AND INTERACTIONS OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL SOURCES.
Contributors: Gonzaga University.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 291
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Public Health.; Psychology, Social.
Description: Prenatal support programs are based on social support theory regarding the stress-buffering effects of informal sources of support, and on research findings that document the positive impact of informal social support on a variety of health states and health-related behaviors among general populations as well as pregnant women. Social support programs operate on the premise that formal sources of support should interact with informal support to have an additive effect.

This study used an investigator-designed instrument to survey postpartum patients who were eligible for a formal social support intervention during their pregnancy. Pregnancy outcomes and patterns of prenatal care for women who participated in the intervention were compared to women who met eligibility criteria but did not participate. Findings were consistent with those from previous studies involving similar programs in that, with the exception of more participants quitting smoking, the analyses failed to demonstrate significant differences in either prenatal care or pregnancy outcomes for these groups of women. In contrast to some studies, though, the analyses failed to demonstrate differences in prenatal care and pregnancy outcome among women receiving different levels of informal social support. Additionally, when the interaction between informal and formal sources of social support on the outcome variables was investigated, no significant interactions were found. An attempt to establish prediction models for prenatal care utilization and favorable versus unfavorable pregnancy outcome on the basis of informal social support score, participation in a formal support program, and other relevant demographic characteristics yielded weak prediction models. Informal support, however, was found to be a significant predictor of prenatal care, and participation in a home-visitation support program predicted pregnancy outcome.

The results of this study have implications for decision making related to social support programs in terms of defining appropriate target populations and program development. Additionally, the instrument that was designed for this study demonstrates satisfactory reliability and holds promise for future use as a research instrument and clinical screening tool.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-12, Section: B, page: 6319.

Thesis (ED.D.)--GONZAGA UNIVERSITY, 1991.

School code: 0736.