Carmen C. Washington, University of Missouri-Columbia, Melody Jorgenson, BA, University of Missouri-Columbia, and Marjorie R. Sable, DrPH, MSW, University of Missouri-Columbia.
Approximately 50 percent of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. It has been suggested that some women may become sexually active or pregnant to fill a gap in their lives. This pilot study examines the relationship between pregnancy intention, pregnancy acceptance and social well-being, specifically by looking at perceived loneliness, social support, and family relationship problems among a sample of low-income pregnant women. We interviewed 72 pregnant women at WIC and prenatal clinics in a Midwestern community. Perceived loneliness was measured by the use of the UCLA Revised Loneliness Scale. Social Support was measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and included three subscales: Friends Support, Family Support, and Significant Other Support. Family relationship problems were measured by the Index of Family Relations (IFR). Our results indicated that unintended pregnancy was not significantly associated with perceived loneliness or family relationship problems, but unintended pregnancy was significantly associated with less social support overall (t=2.37, 69df, p=.02) and with two of the social support subscales. Specifically, women whose pregnancies were unintended had lower mean scores on the family support subscale (t=2.24, 67df, p<.05) and on the significant other subscale (t=2.76, 67df, p<.01) than women whose pregnancies were intended. Happiness to be having the baby was negatively correlated with perceived loneliness (r=-0.403, p<.01) and with family relationship problems (-.307, p<.01), and positively correlated with all domains of social support. Thus, those women who were not happy to be having the baby had higher perceived loneliness scores and higher IFR scores indicating family relationship problems. Women who were happy to be having the baby had more social support from their family, friends, and significant others. The perception that having a baby would fill an emptiness (space) in a woman's life was strongly correlated with perceived loneliness (r=.321, p<.01) indicating that women with higher levels of perceived loneliness were more likely to indicate that a baby would fill an emptiness in their lives. Our findings that pregnancy intention and acceptance are associated with measures of social well-being have implications for social work practice. Future research is needed to better understand these associations and to make recommendations for specific practice interventions to increase social well-being for women whose pregnancies are unintended. Efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies could include interventions to increase social support and improve family relationships.
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