Perceived behavioral control among non-pregnant women

Abstract

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a public health concern due to the possible lifelong physical and cognitive effects in offspring. Prevention of alcoholexposed pregnancies (AEP) should begin preconceptionally, either by preventing unintended pregnancies or by discouraging alcohol consumption in women who are atrisk for pregnancy. The purpose of this dissertation is to utilize the Theory of Planned Behavior’s construct of perceived behavioral control (PBC)—including perceived power and control beliefs—to guide the measurement and understanding of two behaviors related to AEP among non-pregnant women: birth control use and binge drinking. For the first specific aim—to estimate the prevalence of alcohol-exposed pregnancies—a secondary data analysis was conducted using surveillance data from North Dakota and South Dakota women who have had a child with FAS. The FAS prevalence estimates (per 1,000 live births) in both states (ND=0.8/1,000; SD=0.9/1,000) were found to be higher than that calculated from national averages (0.7/1,000) using a comparable surveillance methodology. The goal of Specific Aim 2 was to determine risk for AEP among a random group of women, while Specific Aim 3 determined the control beliefs and perceived power to using birth control and decreasing binge drinking levels, and Specific Aim 4 focused on relating PBC of these two behaviors to behavioral intentions. Data for aims 2-4 were derived from a mailed, cross-sectional survey of 190 non-pregnant women randomly chosen from an electronic health records system in the upper Midwest. Of the 190 women included in the analyses, eight (6.6%) were binge drinking while being at-risk for pregnancy (i.e., being sexually active but not always using an effective form of birth control) (Specific Aim 2). This is lower than national estimates. For Specific Aim 3, there were high direct PBC scores for both birth control and binge drinking, and there was a positive correlation between birth control direct and indirect scores (although a negative correlation between binge drinking direct and indirect scores). Finally, Specific Aim 4 uncovered high intentions to both use birth control and to not binge drink. Also, the direct birth control PBC measure was significantly associated with birth control intention when controlling for other variables, although neither PBC nor intention appeared to be associated with actual birth control behavior. For binge drinking, the intention score and the direct measure of PBC were significantly associated with one another; as well, the direct measure of PBC and intention were both significantly associated with actual binge drinking behavior. Therefore, the relationship between PBC and intention was validated for both behaviors, and the association between PBC, intention, and actual behavior was indicated for binge drinking. Overall, the study both supported and disagreed with previous research, indicating that additional research with this theory and topic matter is necessary. 2