Religious Commitment as a Predictor of Lower Blood Pressure in High-Risk Pregnancies of Southern Appalachia.

<p>Extensive literature review inspired a mediational model of the relationship between Religiosity/Spirituality (R/S) and Blood Pressure (BP) tested through secondary analyses of data from the TIPS program. Participants included 205 (92.1% Caucasian; age M=23.72, SD=5.33) pregnant Southern Appalachian women drawn from the region's at-risk pregnancy population. The only variables correlated with BP were women's weight (<em>r</em>=.430, <em>r</em>=.467, <em>p<</em>.01, for diastolic and systolic BP, respectively) and prenatal care use (<em>r</em>=.138, <em>p</em><.05, with diastolic BP), but not R/S. Multiple regression analyses confirmed participant weight as the only significant independent predictor of BP. Previous findings of health benefits of R/S cannot be assumed to generalize to pregnant women without further study. Limitations of this study and possible explanations for the findings are discussed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MA (Master of Arts)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - unrestricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Ermakova, Anna Vadimovna

• Pregnancy
• Blood Pressure
• Religious Commitment
• Religiosity
• Health Psychology
• Psychology
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by the authors.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1264

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-2455