Informal social support characteristics and utilization of parenting support services among low-income African American mothers of premature infants

Service delivery efforts to attenuate the risks associated with parenting premature infants in poverty often are compromised because those at greatest risk do not use available parenting support services. Yet, relatively little is known about the networks of support surrounding these parents. This study investigated both the characteristics of informal social support within a sample of 31 low‐income, African American mothers of premature infants at high risk for parenting difficulties and their use of community parenting support services. The findings suggest that mothers had small (M = 4.97, SD = 1.80), but highly mobilized, social support networks consisting primarily of family members. Among six different types of support, informational guidance and parenting support were available from the fewest people in participants' networks. Only 32.3% of the sample was aware of and 16.1% of the sample had ever used formal parenting support services. Participants who had received informal support from more than five people in the last month were significantly more likely to have knowledge about existing community parenting support services than those receiving support from smaller social networks. Patterns of knowledge about and utilization of services were examined with regard to network characteristics, perceived maternal desire for more parenting support opportunities than were available, and presence of special needs in the child. The implications of these findings for parenting support programs are discussed. ©2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.