Impoverished women's health locus of control and utilization of prenatal services

Abstract

The relationship between maternal health locus of control and utilization of prenatal health services in a sample of impoverished mothers was examined. Assessments of maternal health locus of control, as well as a variety of sociodemographic and attitudinal variables, were collected from 228 Latino and Euro-American women in a United States county hospital maternity ward. Regression analyses revealed the importance of transportation, parity, perceived importance of prenatal care, and maternal health locus of control (internal and powerful others dimensions) to number of prenatal visits. 'Internals' were less likely and 'externals' were more likely to receive adequate care, a result contrary to prior results found with middle-class samples. The results underscore the importance of specifying the demographic characteristics of the sample in order to determine the relationships between health beliefs and health behavior, in addition to providing information on how the utilization of prenatal health services may be increased through intervention.