scholarly journals Analysis of Prenatal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy and Anxiety Surrounding Giving Birth During COVID-19 Among Pregnant Women in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 236-236
Author(s):  
Erin McKinley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Infant Feeding ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Sample Mean ◽  
Feeding Method ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Breastfeeding Intention ◽  
Food And Agriculture

Abstract Objectives To assess the relationship between perceived level of anxiety and concern with giving birth during COVID-19 and level of prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy among a sample of pregnant persons in the United States. Methods A sample of 849 pregnant persons, representing all 50 states and 5 US territories, were recruited via social media advertisements to take a 78-item web-based survey between May and December of 2020. The survey items assessed prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy using the valid PREP to BF scale, breastfeeding intention, anxiety with giving birth during COVID-19, concern for the baby being exposed at birth, and confusion with pregnancy recommendations during COVID-19. Results The sample, mean age 28.9 years, had a relatively high mean PREP to BF score (308.52 ± 62.74; range 39–390). Over 95% indicated a plan to incorporate breastmilk into their infant feeding routine either exclusively (68.96%) or in combination (26.5%). Seventy-one % were not confused by safe pregnancy recommendations, while 50.7% were “concerned” or “very concerned” their baby would be exposed to COVID-19 at birth, and 63.3% indicated they were “anxious” or “very anxious” about giving birth during the pandemic. One-way ANOVAs revealed persons with higher perceived anxiety (P = .024), more confusion over recommendations (P < .001), and more concern for their baby's exposure (P = .002) had significantly lower PREP to BF scores than their counterparts. Conclusions A pregnant person's anxiety, confusion over recommendations, and concern for their baby's safety had significant negative effects on prenatal self-efficacy for successful breastfeeding after birth during COVID-19. Prenatal healthcare teams should aim to discuss these aspects and reassure of proven safety protocols with pregnant patients to ease anxiety, confusion, or fear while helping to maintain or improve self-efficacy for the intended infant feeding method. Funding Sources This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch project LAB94426.

scholarly journals A mixed-methods longitudinal study of Marshallese infant feeding beliefs and experiences in the United States: a study protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Britni L. Ayers ◽  
Cari A. Bogulski ◽  
Lauren Haggard-Duff ◽  
James P. Selig ◽  
Pearl A. McElfish
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Infant Feeding ◽  
Exclusive Breastfeeding ◽  
Infant Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Breastfeeding Intention ◽  
Maternal And Infant Health

Abstract Background Arkansas has the largest population of Marshallese Pacific Islanders residing in the continental United States. Marshallese are disproportionately burdened by poorer maternal and infant health outcomes. Exclusive breastfeeding can prevent or help mitigate maternal and infant health disparities. However, exclusive breastfeeding among United States Marshallese communities remains disproportionately low, and the reasons are not well documented. This paper describes the protocol of a mixed-methods concurrent triangulation longitudinal study designed to explore the beliefs and experiences that serve as barriers and/or facilitators to exclusive breastfeeding intention, initiation, and duration among Marshallese mothers in northwest Arkansas. Methods The mixed-methods design collects qualitative and quantitative data during simultaneous data collection events, at third trimester, six weeks postpartum, and six months postpartum. Quantitative and qualitative data will be analyzed separately and then synthesized during the interpretation phase. The research team will disseminate results to study participants, research stakeholders, the broader Marshallese community, and fellow researchers. Discussion Findings and results will be presented in subsequent manuscripts upon completion of the study. This study will be an important first step to better understand beliefs and experiences to exclusive breastfeeding intention, initiation, and duration in this community and will inform tools and interventions to help improve health outcomes. The study will also aid in filling the gap in research and providing essential information on the infant feeding beliefs and barriers among a Marshallese community in Arkansas.

Effectiveness of Programs for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Del Campo ◽  
Marisalva Fávero
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sexual Abuse Prevention ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Methodological Considerations

Abstract. During the last decades, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs implemented in different countries. In this article, we present a review of 70 studies (1981–2017) evaluating prevention programs, conducted mostly in the United States and Canada, although with a considerable presence also in other countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The results of these studies, in general, are very promising and encourage us to continue this type of intervention, almost unanimously confirming its effectiveness. Prevention programs encourage children and adolescents to report the abuse experienced and they may help to reduce the trauma of sexual abuse if there are victims among the participants. We also found that some evaluations have not considered the possible negative effects of this type of programs in the event that they are applied inappropriately. Finally, we present some methodological considerations as critical analysis to this type of evaluations.

Mental health recovery and its correlates: Perspectives from 2 countries (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiting Xie
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Health Recovery ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Promote Mental Health

BACKGROUND Many people are affected by mental health conditions, yet its prevalence in certain populations are not well documented. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to describe the attributes of people with mental health conditions in U.S and SG in terms of: perception of mental health recovery and its correlates such as strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience. With the findings, not only could the knowledge base for mental health recovery in both countries be enhanced but interventions and policies relating to self-efficacy, resourcefulness and de-stigmatization for mental health recovery could be informed. METHODS A A cross-sectional, descriptive study with convenience sample of 200 community dwelling adults were selected, 100 pax from the United States (U.S) and 100 pax from Singapore (SG). Adults with serious mental illnesses without substance abuse impacting on their recovery were recruited. Participants completed self-administered questionaires measuring their mental health recovery, strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience. RESULTS This study offered the unique opportunity to examine mental health recovery as well as its correlates such as strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience from both the United States and Singapore. While the perception of mental health recovery and positive attributes like strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness remained strong in participants with serious mental illnesses across both countries, people with serious mental illnesses in both countries still experienced negative perception like stigma. The findings would not only inform strategies to promote mental health recovery but also enhance the focus on correlates such as strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness across both countries. CONCLUSIONS The findings would not only inform strategies to promote mental health recovery but also enhance the focus on correlates such as strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness across both countries.

The Three Rs in Research and Education: A Long Road Ahead in the United States

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Barbara Orlans
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The Right ◽  
Student Projects ◽  
Institutional Oversight ◽  
The Three Rs

Attitudes toward the Three Rs concept of refinement, reduction and replacement in the United States in research and education are widely divergent. Positive responses have come from several sources, notably from four centres established to disseminate information about alternatives. Funding sources to support work in the Three Rs have proliferated. The activities of institutional oversight committees have resulted in the nationwide implementation of important refinements. In the field of education, student projects involving pain or death for sentient animals have declined, and the right of students to object to participation in animal experiments on ethical grounds has been widely established. However, there is still a long way to go. Resistance to alternatives is deep-seated within several of the scientific disciplines most closely associated with animal research. The response of the National Institutes of Health to potentially important Congressional directives on the Three Rs has been unsatisfactory. The prestigious National Association of Biology Teachers, which at first endorsed the use of alternatives in education, later rescinded this policy, because of opposition to it. An impediment to progress is the extreme polarisation of viewpoints between the biomedical community and the animal protectionists.

“Painful, yet Beautiful, Moments”: Pathways Through Infant Feeding and Dynamic Conceptions of Breastfeeding Success

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110321
Author(s):  
Mackenzie D. M. Whipps ◽  
Hirokazu Yoshikawa ◽  
Jill R. Demirci ◽  
Jennifer Hill
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Infant Feeding ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cultural Narratives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Intensive Mothering ◽  
First Time

What is breastfeeding “success”? In this article, we challenge the traditional biomedical definition, instead centering visions of success described by breastfeeding mothers themselves. Using semi-structured interviews, quantitative surveys, and written narratives of 38 first-time mothers in the United States, we describe five common pathways through the first-year postpartum, a taxonomic distinction far more complex than a success–failure dichotomy: sustained breastfeeding, exclusive pumping, combination feeding, rapid weaning, and grinding back to exclusivity. We also explore the myriad ways in which mothers define and experience breastfeeding success, and in the process uncover the ways that cultural narratives—especially intensive mothering—color those experiences. Finally, we discuss how these experiences are shaped by infant feeding pathway. In doing so, we discover nuance that has gone unexplored in the breastfeeding literature. These findings have implications for supporting, promoting, and protecting breastfeeding in the United States and other high-income countries.

scholarly journals I am smart, therefore I can: examining the relationship between IQ and self-efficacy across cultures

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diomaris E.S. Jurecska ◽  
Chloe E. Lee ◽  
Kelly B.T. Chang ◽  
Elizabeth Sequeira
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Central America ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Intellectual Abilities ◽  
The Us ◽  
Iq Scores ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between intelligence (IQ) and self-efficacy in children and adolescents living in the United States and Nicaragua. The sample consisted of 90 (46 male, 44 female) students (mean age=11.57 years, SD=3.0 years) referred by school administrators and faculty. United States (US) participants (n=27) resided in rural counties in the Northwest. The other group consisted of 63 students from Central America. A comparison between groups revealed that in the US, sample higher grades and IQ scores are typically associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. However in the Nicaraguan sample, both IQ scores and grades were not associated with self-efficacy, although age was correlated with self-efficacy. Results suggest that the construct of self-efficacy might change depending on whether one belongs to an individualistic or collectivistic society. Additionally, the effects of socioeconomic factors might influence perceived ability even more than intellectual abilities.

Hard Time

Affilia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel C. Casey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Complex Needs ◽  
Criminal Justice Reform ◽  
Hard Time ◽  
Personal Accounts

As the number of women incarcerated in the United States continues to rise and their complex needs become more apparent, social workers must fortify their historical commitment to criminal justice reform. However, crafting more effective and compassionate responses to the needs of justice-involved women may very well require a more nuanced understanding of the holistic impact of incarceration on women’s well-being than the current literature offers. Utilizing the framework of feminist standpoint epistemology, the researcher engaged in qualitative content analysis to examine published personal accounts from 43 women to better understand their experiences in prisons and jails in the United States. Two overarching themes emerged from the analysis. First, the personal accounts illustrated that women experience prisons and jails as environments of denial insofar as these carceral environments deny women’s basic needs, their sense of humanity, and their personal power. The second overarching theme pertains to the holistic impact of the carceral environment upon women’s lives, meaning it has expansive effects on women’s biopsychosocial–spiritual functioning. Social workers should dedicate efforts to dramatically reducing the number of women behind bars and engaging in holistic intervention approaches that might counteract the negative effects of incarceration across domains of well-being.

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