Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose: Significant numbers of women continue to consume alcohol while pregnant despite evidence of a range of possible serious consequences. To improve intervention and prevention strategies, a better understanding of the risk and protective factors associated with drinking during pregnancy is needed. The goals of the present study include determining what appear to be the most salient predictors of alcohol use during pregnancy and to explore differences in these predictors among White, Hispanic, and African American women.

Methods: To achieve these goals, a risk-protective model of prenatal alcohol use, developed from a review of the literature, was tested using data of pregnant women from the 2001 and 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression analyses were conducted with the full sample (N = 1,814) and White (n = 1,080), Hispanic (n = 323), and African American (n = 281) subgroups.

Results: Several predictors remained significant in each regression model. Illicit drug use (risk) was the most influential predictor in the full sample (OR 4.15) and among White (OR 6.30) and Hispanic (OR 37.02) subgroups. Cigarette smoking (risk) was the only predictor to remain significant across all subgroup models and was the strongest factor among African American respondents (OR 33.69). Several other risk factors were significant among specific ethnic groups. Although only one protective factor, religiosity among African American respondents (OR .17), emerged as significant, examination of what factors may serve to deter women from drinking during pregnancy is just beginning.

The R2 of the full model (16.63%) was lower than that of all subgroup models – White (17.43%), Hispanic (26.03%), African American 32.72%) – emphasizing that crucial variations in predictors do exist among women of different ethnic backgrounds. Complete results of regression analyses, as well as descriptive findings, will be presented.

Implications for practice: Findings from this research have numerous implications for social workers whose clients include pregnant and/or childbearing aged women and seem particularly applicable to those working in healthcare settings. These implications include incorporating what appear to be the most important risk factors for alcohol use during pregnancy into practice routines to improve screening, education, referral, and counseling efforts. Implications for social workers practicing in substance abuse treatment programs and faith-based treatment organizations are also discussed.