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R T Mercer

Publications and source records attributed to R T Mercer.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Focus on psychometrics. Aggregating family data.

Instruments to collect data about families are often administered to all or some individuals within the family. Researchers may wish to use these individual scores to describe the family. The purpose of this article is to describe the special issues with aggregation of data when only a small number of family members are used as respondents. A refinement of the definition of aggregation for family researchers is proposed to assist researchers to focus on specific issues when data are to reflect subgroups within the family. A few examples of changes in findings are reported to illustrate the effects of different aggregation schemes when two members of the family are used as respondents.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1990

Predictors of parental attachment during early parenthood.

Parental attachment of 121 high-risk women, 61 partners of high-risk women, 182 low-risk women, and 117 partners of low-risk women, was studied at the first week postpartum and 8 months following birth. The tests of theoretical models showed low predictive ability explaining from zero to 21% of the variance in parental attachment in the four groups over the two test periods. Empirical respecified models predicting parent-infant attachment at the first week postpartum and 8 months explained 31% and 29% of the variance among high-risk women, 69% and 45% among high-risk partners, 41% and 53% among low-risk women, and 35% and 38% among low-risk partners. Parental competence was a major predictor of parental attachment over all test periods for all four groups. Early parent-infant contact following birth was never a predictor except at 8 months when, among low-risk women, the opposite effect than that expected was observed; the later women held their infants the higher was their attachment. High-risk women scored significantly higher than low-risk women during the first week postpartum only.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of antepartal stress on health status during early motherhood.

A group of high-risk women who were hospitalized for a pregnancy-risk complication, and a group of low-risk women experiencing normal pregnancy were compared for differences in health status and the effects of antepartal stress on their health status from pregnancy through early motherhood. High-risk women reported a statistically significant poorer health status during pregnancy, early postpartal hospitalization, and at eight months following birth. High-risk women reported greater stress from negative life events in addition to their greater pregnancy risk. Among both groups of women, negative life events' stress had indirect effects on health status over time through either self-esteem, family functioning, mate relationships or perceived support. The effects of a high-risk pregnancy on health status were evident at eight months following birth; high-risk women's feelings about their pregnancy and the extent of stress from hospitalization had direct effects on their health status, while negative life events had indirect effects.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of family functioning eight months following birth.

A theoretical causal model was tested to determine the effects of stress on family functioning for four groups of parents at 8 months postpartum. High-risk women who had been hospitalized during pregnancy, their partners, low-risk women, and their partners were tested to find how predictors might differ by gender and risk-status. The proposed theoretical model had low predictive power among the four groups (20% to 24%); however, the exploratory, empirical models had moderate to strong explanatory power (33% to 58%). Depression had direct effects on family functioning among all four groups in the theoretical model, but the respecified models had direct effects only among the two groups of women. Antepartal stress in the form of negative life events stress had indirect effects on women's family functioning, as was hypothesized, but not for men. High-risk men's partners' pregnancy risk had direct effects on family functioning at 8 months, indicating long-term effects on the family of a high-risk pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of primiparas' perceptions of vaginal and cesarean births.

Twenty primiparous mothers who had cesarean births were compared with 30 primiparous mothers who had vaginal deliveries to determine differences in their perceptions of the birth experience. The effect of general versus regional anesthesia on the satisfaction level of the cesarean mothers was also investigated. All subjects were between 20 and 32 years of age, were interviewed within 48 hours postpartum, and completed a 29-item questionnaire that measures maternal perceptions about the labor and delivery experience. Satisfaction with the birth experience was significantly lower among cesarean mothers and among those who had general anesthesia. The cesarean group displayed greater hesitancy in naming their infants and tended to view their deliveries as abnormal and having social stigma. The presence of a support person in the operating room for a cesarean birth seemed to lessen anxiety among these mothers. These findings suggest that a cesarean birth has a negative impact on the mother's perceptions of her labor and delivery experience. There is a need for further study of factors that can enhance this experience for families.

Adult↗