Page 35 - Zero for nine: Reducing alcohol use during pregnancy via health counselling and Internet-based computer-tailored feedback

Partner’s influences and other correlates of prenatal alcohol use
Introduction
Alcohol use by pregnant women is one of the leading preventable
causes of damage to an unborn child (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2002). Because no safe alcohol intake level during pregnancy
has been established (Streissguth & O’Malley, 2000), abstaining from 2 alcohol during pregnancy is highly recommended in many countries
(O’Leary, et al., 2007). Still, many pregnant women continue to drink alcohol, with estimates ranging from 35 to 50 percent in the Netherlands (Health Council of the Netherlands, 2005). Effective interventions must be developed to reduce prenatal alcohol use and the identification of critical correlates of prenatal alcohol use may aid in the development of such interventions.
Various studies have previously investigated correlates of prenatal alcohol use (Skagerstrom, Chang, & Nilsen, 2011). Women who continue to drink alcohol during pregnancy are older (e.g. Haynes, Dunnagan, & Christopher, 2003; Nilsen, et al., 2008), have a higher education (e.g. Perham-Hester & Gessner, 1997), drink more alcohol before pregnancy (e.g. Chang, et al., 2007), and smoke cigarettes more often during pregnancy (e.g. Comasco, et al., 2012) compared to women who do not use alcohol during pregnancy. Lower perceived risk of prenatal alcohol use (Testa & Reifman, 1996) and a neutral or positive attitude toward prenatal alcohol use (Peadon, et al., 2011) appeared to predict heavier drinking. All of the previous studies concentrated on maternal characteristics. However, in line with theoretical models that emphasize the importance of social influence in determining health behavior (Ajzen, 1985; De Vries, et al., 1995), a growing body of research has additionally focused on the role of the partner in prenatal alcohol use.
Research on the effects of partners on prenatal alcohol use in women can be classified according to three constructs of social influence: partner norm (i.e. the partner’s belief regarding acceptability of prenatal alcohol use), partner modeling (i.e. the partner’s own alcohol use during the woman’s pregnancy) and partner support (i.e. the partner’s help in abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy; De Vries, et al., 1995).
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