Psychological and spiritual traits in adults born via labor cesarean section
by Curley, Steven James, Ph.D., INSTITUTE OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2009, 166 pages; 3356198

Abstract:

This study concerning birth investigated the adult psychological and spiritual effects of those individuals born via labor cesarean section utilizing quantitative and qualitative research methods. A labor cesarean section is defined as a cesarean section performed after the onset of labor. A demographic questionnaire, the Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised, the Spirituality Assessment Scale, and a birth questionnaire were completed by 64 adults, 57 women and 7 men. The participants, aged 18 to 58 years, were divided into 3 groups: the vaginally born (n = 20), the nonlabor cesarean born ( n = 20), and the labor cesarean born (n = 24). A comparison of the 3 birth groups data from the Symptoms Checklist-90-R and the Spirituality Assessment Scale was made using one-way analysis of variance. The qualitative data from the birth questionnaire were analyzed using a grounded theory method. The quantitative analysis revealed reduced mean scores on the Somatization (p = .043), Obsessive-Compulsive (p = .014), and Anxiety (p = .049) subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90-R as compared to the vaginally born group. A post hoc Bonferroni analysis found the difference between the 3 groups on these 3 subscales to be due to the vaginal group. However, due to the multiple comparisons of this study the experiment-wise error rate may be inflated leading to an increased chance of Type I errors. No correlation was found between labor cesarean birth and adult spirituality. The qualitative analysis (grounded theory) did not reveal any differences between the 3 birth groups. These results contradicted the work of other researchers in this field and suggested that further research is needed on the possible long-term psychological and spiritual consequences of birth.

 
AdviserPatricia G. Campbell
SchoolINSTITUTE OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY
SourceDAI/B 70-05, p. , Jul 2009
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsClinical psychology; Personality psychology
Publication Number3356198
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» This is an open access dissertation.
  Use the link below to access the full text PDF of this graduate work:
  http://gradworks.umi.com/3356198.pdf
  Use the link below to search and retrieve all open access dissertations:
  http://pqdtopen.proquest.com

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.