Understanding the Intentions of Pregnant Nullipara to Not Smoke Cigarettes after Childbirth

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify factors that may influence a nullipara's decision not to smoke cigarettes following childbirth. A sample of sixty-three nullipara were asked to complete a questionnaire investigating the variables identified in the theories of Fishbein and Ajzen, Triandis, and Bandura. The regression of intentions on all variables yielded an R² of 0.80 (p < 0.0001). Three variables contributed equally in explaining this variance: perceived self-efficacy, smoking habits during pregnancy, and attitude. MANOVA analyses also indicated significant differences between the cognitive profiles of high (HI) and low (LI) in tenders. Relative to LI, HI believed that not smoking cigarettes after delivery would have positive outcomes for both the baby and themselves and they valued these outcomes more strongly. The results demonstrate the importance of designing health promotion programs which improve not only a pregnant woman's knowledge of the benefits for the baby and herself of not smoking cigarettes after delivery, but also personal self-efficacy concerning not-smoking.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Shephard

R.J.

, The Risk of Passive Smoking, Oxford University Press, New York, 1982.

Kleinman

J. C.

Kopstein

, Smoking during Pregnancy, American Journal of Public Health, 77:7, pp. 823–825, 1987.

Kleinman

J. C.

Madans

J. H.

, The Effects of Maternal Smoking, Physical Stature, and Educational Attainment on the Incidence of Low Birth Weight, American Journal of Epidemiology, 121, pp. 843–855, 1985.

Sexton

Hebel

J. R.

, A Clinical Trial of Change in Maternal Smoking and Its Effect on Birth Weight, Journal of the American Medical Association, 251, pp, 911–915, 1984.

Schneider

Henrion

, Tabac et Grossesse, Le Journal de Gynécologie Obstétrique et Biologie de la Reproduction, 8, pp. 7–12, 1979.

Rentakallio

, Relationship of Maternal Smoking to Morbidity and Mortality of the Child up to the Age of Five, Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica, 67, pp. 621–631, 1978.

Bergman

A. B.

Wiesner

L. A.

, Relationship of Passive Cigarette Smoking to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Pediatrics, 58, pp. 665–668, 1976.

Fishbein

Ajzen

, Belief, Attitude, Intention and Behavior, Addison-Wesley Publishing, Reading, Massachusetts, 1975.

Triandis

H. C.

, Interpersonal Behavior, Brooks/Cole, Monterey, California, 1977.

10.

Bandura

, Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change, Psychological Review, 84, pp. 191–215, 1977.

11.

Ajzen

Fishbein

, Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1980.

12.

Fishbein

, An Investigation of the Relationships between Beliefs about an Object and the Attitude toward the Object, Human Relations, 16, pp. 233–240, 1963.

13.

Desmond

S. H.

Price

J. H.

Losh

D. P.

, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control of Pregnant Women who Smoke, Psychological Reports, 60, pp. 191–194, 1987.

14.

Sexton

Hebel

J. R.

, A Clinical Trial of Change in Maternal Smoking and Its Effect on Birth Weight, Journal of the American Medical Association, 251, pp. 911–915, 1984.

15.

Sutton

S. R.

Eiser

J. R.

, The Effect of Fear-arousing Communications on Cigarette Smoking: An Expectancy-value Approach, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 7, pp. 13–33, 1984.

16.

Prentice-Dunn

Jacobs

, Effect of Self-awareness and Expectancies on Behavioral Intentions: Integrating Self-efficacy Theory and Control Theory, Psychological Reports, 58, pp. 143–147, 1986.

17.

Godin

Shephard

R. J.

Colantonio

, The Cognitive Profile of Those Who Intend to Exercise but Do Not, Public Health Reports, 101, pp. 521–526, 1986.