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Background: The significant role of lay caregivers has been explored in chronic and acute illnesses. In pregnancy, caregivers’ (eg, the baby’s father, friends, and family) roles in promoting the health of the mother and baby are not well understood. Objective: We characterize the activities and roles of pregnancy caregivers and offer opportunities for engaging this important group. Method: We conducted interviews with 29 pregnancy caregivers. Interview transcripts were analyzed inductively, resulting in a coding scheme of actions and roles that pregnancy caregivers perform. Results: The most common actions and roles included searching for information (97%), accompanying patients to medical appointments (69%), and being a source of emotional support (76%). Identified actions and roles fit a patient work framework, including work types identified by Corbin and Strauss: illness, everyday life, biographical, articulation, and invisible. Conclusion: The patient work framework can be employed to describe the activities and roles of pregnancy caregivers. We have contributed new insights into the experiences of pregnancy caregivers and recommendations for educational and technological interventions.

The effect of personality similarity on compatibility and conflict was studied among roommate pairs. Self-reported data were collected for frequency of conflict, liking, personality measures, "morningness," choice vs. assigned, length of rooming together, length of relationship, and socioeconomic variables. Although some variables show promise, additional predictors should be studied. (Author/EMK)

The purpose of this study was to create an instrument to measurefour social needs; achievement, affiliation, autonomy, and dominance.Although an instrument exists (i.e., the Manifest Needs Questionnaire(MNQ), Steers & Braunstein, 1976), numerous studies have reportedproblematic internal consistency of the scale scores. A 60-iteminstrument, consisting of the 20 MNQ items and 40 new items, wasadministered to 476 undergraduates. Based on the factor analysisresults, the 20-item Needs Assessment Questionnaire (NAQ) was created.Internal consistency estimates were higher for the NAQ scores than forthe MNQ scores in the creation and confirmation samples. Evidence of thescale's test-retest reliability is provided. Additional data collectedfrom 203 undergraduates and 401 workers provided support for thevalidity of the scale for these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]