The current study examined whether the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP), an intervention in which mothers received home visitation by registered nurses pre- and postnatally, reduced mothers' vulnerability to the effects of stressful life events several years after the program was completed. Data from a randomized trial of the NFP were examined for mothers (N = 324) who were generally low-income, young, and unmarried at the time of the birth of their first child. Structured interviews were done with mothers about 15 years after the program began. Results showed that experiencing uncontrollable stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one, led to fewer negative outcomes (fewer mental health problems, less binge drinking, and better parenting practices) among nurse-visited mothers than among mothers receiving no visitation. Furthermore, the program's effect on reducing vulnerability to the negative impact of life events was particularly evident among parents who were younger or had a lower sense of personal control at intake. These findings suggest that, in addition to preventing the occurrence of negative outcomes that were direct targets of the intervention, the NFP more generally enhanced mothers' ability to cope with future stressful life events.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
All three-way interactions were non-significant. See Table 3.
REFERENCES
Hollingshead, A. (1976). Four factor index of social status. (Manuscript) New Haven: Yale University Social Sciences Library.
Karoly, L. A., Greenwood, P. W., Everingham, S. S., Joube, J., Kilburn, M. R., Rydell, C. P., Sanders, M., & Chiesa, J. (1998). Investing in our children: What we know and dont know about the costs and benefits of early childhood interventions. Washington, DC: Rand.
Kessler, R. C. (1990). National Comorbidity Survey. [Online]. Available: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/SAMHDA/ncs.html
Kitzman, H., Olds, D. L., Henderson, C. R., Hanks, C., Cole, R., et al. (1997). Effect of prenatal and infancy home visitation by nurses on pregnancy outcomes, childhood injuries, and repeated childbearing: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278(8), 644–652.
Olds, D. L., Eckenrode, J. J., Henderson, C. R., Jr., Kitzman, H., Powers, J., Cole, R., Sidora, K., Morris, P., Pettitt, L., & Luckey, D. (1997). Long-term effects of home visitation on maternal life course and child abuse and neglect: 15-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 637–643.
Olds, D. L., Henderson, C. R., Jr., Chamberlin, R., & Tatelbaum, R. (1986). Preventing child abuse and neglect: A randomized trial of nurse home visitation. Pediatrics, 78, 65–78.
Olds, D. L., Henderson, C. R., Jr., Cole, R., Eckenrode, J., Kitzman, H., Luckey, D., Pettitt, L., Sidora, K., Morris, P., & Powers, J. (1998). Long-term effects of nurse home visitation on children's criminal and antisocial behavior: 15-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 1238–1244.
Olds, D., Robinson, J., O'Brien, R., Luckey, D., Pettitt, L., Henderson, C., et al. (2002). Home visiting by paraprofessionals and by nurses: A randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics, 110(3), 486–496.
Olds, D. L., Tatelbaum, R., Henderson, C. R., Robinson, J., Kitzman, H., Pettit, L. M., Eckenrode, J. J., O'Brien, R., Cole, R., & Hill, P. (1998b). Prenatal and infancy home visitation by nurses: A program of research. In C. Roves-Collier, L. P. Lewis, & H. Hayne (Eds.), Advances in infancy research (Vol. 12, pp. 79–130). Stanford, CT: Ablex Publishing.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal vs. external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80.
Schaefer, E. S. (1965). Children's reports of parental behavior. Child Development, 36, 413–424.
Stewart, A. L., Sherborne, J. T., Kays, R. D., Well, K. B., Nelson, E. C., Kamberg, C., Rogers, W. H., Berry, S. H., & Ware, J. E. (1992). Summary and discussion of MOS measures. In A. L. Stewart & J. E. Ware (Eds.), Measuring functioning and well-being: The medical outcomes study approach (pp. 245–371). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Rotter, J. B. (2002). Interim Report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by grants from the Prevention Research Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (Dr. Olds: R01-MH49381), the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health and Human Services (Dr. Olds: 96ASPE278A), the Children's Bureau, US Department of Health and Human Services (Dr. Eckenrode: 90-CA-1631) and a Senior Research Scientist Award (Dr. Olds: 1-K05-MH01382-01).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Izzo, C.V., Eckenrode, J., Smith, E.G. et al. Reducing the Impact of Uncontrollable Stressful Life Events Through a Program of Nurse Home Visitation for New Parents. Prev Sci 6, 269–274 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0010-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0010-5