Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

3-1987

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Human Ecology

Major Professor

Gary M. Peterson

Committee Members

Priscilla White, Jan Allen, Fred Venditti

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether age, educational attainment, career status, and childbearing delay would function as predictors of maternal expectations for newborn growth and development. The research design was a survey design using the mother's expectations as a dependent variable and age, educational attainment, career status, and delay of childbearing as independent variables.

The sample consisted of 86 first-time mothers who were interviewed in the hospital within three days of childbirth. Two questionnaires were used to gather data on the mothers' perceptions and expectations regarding their newborns: form one of the Neonatal Perception Inventory (NPI) and the Maternal Expectations Report, a fixed response questionnaire based on the Denver Developmental Screening Test.

Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between expectations and the mother's age, educational attainment, career status, and delay of childbirth after marriage. None of the proposed positive relationships were supported by the statistical analysis. Thus, no easily obtained demographic variables were found to be predictors of maternal expectations for growth and development. Future research should focus on social psychological variables as predictors of maternal expectations.

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