 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Kristen J Wells, MPH, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, PCD 4118G, Tampa, FL 33613, 813-340-4851, kwells@chuma1.cas.usf.edu, Nancy J. Thompson, MPH, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, Amy S. Kloeblen-Tarver, MPH, RD, LD, International Nutrition Research Exchange Service, Inc., 1780 Little Willeo Road, Marietta, GA 30068, and Lisa Angus, BA, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, 242 2nd Ave, Atlanta, GA 30030.
One Healthy People 2010 objective is to increase to 75% the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period. This study tested how well three constructs, prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy, processes of change for breastfeeding adoption, and breastfeeding motivation, explain prenatal breastfeeding intention. Participants included 199 pregnant women recruited from a large inner-city hospital. Most participants were African-American (93%), single (83.6%), and 25 years of age or younger (72.7%). Participants completed three scales assessing breastfeeding motivation, prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy, and processes of change for breastfeeding adoption and one question assessing breastfeeding intention. All three variables were significantly correlated with intention to breastfeed. When intention was regressed on processes of change and the control variables (race, education, number of times pregnant), processes explained 26.5% of the variance (model R2=.300, p=.000). When intention was regressed on self-efficacy and the control variables, self-efficacy explained 16.2% of the variance (model R2=.197, p=.000). When intention was regressed on motivation and the control variables, motivation explained 16.5% of the variance (model R2=.201, p=.000). When all three variables and the control variables were combined in one model, the model was significant [F (6,198) = 17.75, p=.000], and explained 35.7% of the variance in intention. Much of the variance in intention was shared by the three variables, but processes of change explained the most variance and the most unique variance. This study demonstrates that processes of change, self-efficacy, and motivation make significant contributions to our understanding of breastfeeding intention.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Breastfeeding, Theory
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.