The Effect of Desired Control and Anticipated Control on the Stress of Childbirth

One hundred and eleven obstetric patients reported their level of distress, social support, desire for control, and anticipated control before and after childbirth. Women who had high desires for control but anticipated low control reported the highest levels of distress in this sample. This corroborates research with dental patients and supports a risk-group hypothesis that individuals who report high desire for situational control in conjunction with low anticipated control will be particularly at risk for experiencing distress under aversive conditions. This is congruent with the view that low control is particularly likely to elevate psychological distress among women who report a high desire for control during their delivery. The data, however, only supported a "weak form" of the risk-group hypothesis in that patients who reported low desire for control in conjunction with low anticipated control experienced higher distress than patients who anticipated high control. This outcome is inconsistent with the strong version of the risk-group hypothesis, that is, that low control is only likely to elevate distress when it is strongly desired. We discuss pragmatic implications of these data.