| Summary |
Participants were pregnant women receiving prenatal care through East Carolina University's Brody Medical Center, along with their partners. The present study investigated the effects of prenatal education regarding self-care, child care, child cognitive, emotional and physical development on parental self-efficacy, knowledge of child development through age one, social support, realistic expectations, and stress levels. Data were collected through the use of pre-post class surveys and measurements that were analyzed using SPSS version 22 statistical software. Results suggested that participants increased their parenting self-efficacy through gains in knowledge of infant care and development. Perceived stress levels decreased significantly from pre-test to post-test at both time one and at time two measures. Participants who attended a greater number of classes reported a greater degree of change from pre-test to their final post-test measures of parenting self-efficacy and perceived stress. Implications are that a focused intervention with limited dosage may be effective at reducing prenatal stress through helping expectant parents feel better prepared for parenthood. Implementation in existing group prenatal settings would maximize reach. |
| General note | Presented to the faculty of the Department of Human Development and Family Science. |
| General note | Advisor: Sharon Ballard. |
| General note | Title from PDF t.p. (viewed August 2, 2017). |
| Dissertation note | M.S. East Carolina University 2017 |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references. |
| Technical details | System requirements: Adobe Reader. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web. |
