Date of Conferral
2023
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Silvia Bigatti
Abstract
Recent research has shown that having an infant admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a traumatic experience for parents. However, less is known about whether this trauma is related to later parenting self-efficacy for childcare after NICU discharge and whether that relationship is affected by the length of NICU stay. This quantitative study, guided by Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and Ehlers and Clark’s cognitive model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), examined the relationship between mothers’ trauma of having had a child in the NICU and maternal parenting self-efficacy related to childcare post-NICU discharge, with length of NICU stay as a moderator. Data from online surveys were analyzed using SPSS software to conduct a multiple regression moderation analysis. Mothers’ trauma was measured by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and maternal parenting self-efficacy was measured by the Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy questionnaire. Length of stay was measured in days in the NICU. Results did not yield statistical significance between mothers’ trauma of having an infant in the NICU and maternal parenting self-efficacy, and length of NICU stay did not moderate the relationship between mothers’ trauma and maternal parenting self-efficacy. Nevertheless, understanding the relationship among these variables may lead positive social change by medical and professional staff helping mothers during and after their infant’s transition from the NICU.
Recommended Citation
Switzer, Suzanne, "Relationship Between Length of NICU Stay and Mothers’ Trauma and Self-Efficacy for Childcare Post-NICU Discharge" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14536.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14536
