Childbirth and Infant Development Knowledge Gaps in Interpersonal Settings

Abstract

The knowledge gap hypothesis predicts that infusions of information into an environment will lead to knowledge gain by groups with higher socioeconomic status (SES) at rates that outpace the knowledge gain of lower SES groups, leading to a growing relative gap between them. Four information source variables were examined in the present study: education, baby care experience, friend and relative networks, and interpersonal communication in a parent education setting. Study subjects were mothers and fathers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and mothers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the sample, the classic pattern of widening gaps due to education was not supported by time trend data, although one-time data showed gaps. The interpersonal communication condition contributed most to knowledge levels and to widened knowledge gaps.