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Maternal psychological characteristics as influences on home visitation contact
Author(s) -
Olds David L.,
Korfmacher Jon
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199801)26:1<23::aid-jcop3>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - memphis , psychology , phone , mental health , social psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy , botany , biology
The current investigation examines how women's psychological characteristics influence their use of home visitation services in programs for mothers and infants in Elmira, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee. Subjects were 99 White (in Elmira) and 207 predominantly African American (in Memphis) first‐time mothers. They were recruited during pregnancy and were provided home visitation services by public health nurses until the child's second birthday. In the Elmira trial, variables measuring number of home visits and amount of telephone contact were regressed on a measure of maternal sense of control over life circumstances. Sense of control showed a linear and quadratic relationship to home visitation, with number of visits decreasing as sense of control increased. Phone contact, however, showed a positive linear relationship with sense of control, as did support from partner. In Memphis, similar results were seen with home visitation contact using a measure of psychological resources (comprised of maternal intellectual and mental‐health functioning and copying style). These results are interpreted in terms of the nurses varying their contact with families based upon their perception of the mother's need. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.