Use Effectiveness of the Creighton Model Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning

OBJECTIVE: To determine the use effectiveness of the Creighton model ovulation method in avoiding and achieving pregnancy. DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive. SETTING: A natural family planning clinic at a university nursing center. PARTICIPANTS: Records and charts from 242 couples who were taught the Creighton model. The sample represented 1,793 months of use of the model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Creighton model demographic forms and logbook. RESULTS: At 12 months of use, the Creighton model was 98.8% method effective and 98.0% use effective in avoiding pregnancy. It was 24.4% use effective in achieving pregnancy. The continuation rate for the sample at 12 months of use was 78.0%. CONCLUSION: The Creighton model is an effective method of family planning when used to avoid or achieve pregnancy. However, its effectiveness depends on its being taught by qualified teachers. The effectiveness rate of the Creighton model is based on the assumption that if couples knowingly use the female partner\u27s days of fertility for genital intercourse, they are using the method to achieve pregnancy

Religiosity and Sexual Activity Among Older Adolescents

This study investigates religiosity, sexual activity, and sexual permissiveness among older adolescents. Eighty-two college students completed a survey that measured religiosity, sexual permissiveness, self-esteem, frequency of recent sexual encounters, and motivators for sexual activity or abstinence. Guilt, prayer, organized religious activity, and religious well-being predicted fewer sexual encounters. Orthodox beliefs, participation in organized religious activities, and highly-rated importance of faith predicted less permissive sexual attitudes. We conclude that guilt and religious activity can be good motivators for decreasing sexual encounters. We recommend that health practitioners encourage participation in religious activity among adolescents

Perceived Uncertainty, Coping, and Emotional Distress in Spouses of Cardiac Surgical Patients

The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to measure perceived uncertainty as a variable influencing spouses of patients undergoing myocardial revascularization surgery. Since uncertainty may affect the spouse\u27s coping abilities and emotional response, the study was designed to discover how certain mood states and methods of coping were related to uncertainty. A convenience sample of 30 females completed the Spouse Uncertainty in Illness Scale (Mishel, 1983b), the Jalowiec Coping Scale (Jalowiec, 1987), and. the Profile of Mood States (McNair, Lorr, & Dropplemann, 1971) on the evening prior to their husband\u27s surgery. Analysis of data demonstrated that the spouses had a moderate degree of uncertainty (mean score of 72.40). Pearson Product Moment Correlations were performed between total uncertainty and use of coping methods. Total uncertainty was significantly positively related to the frequency of use score (r=0.38; p\u3c.05). Significant relationships were also found to exist between total uncertainty and the use of evasive (r=0.51; p=0.004 ) , supportant (r=0.41; p=0.026), and fatalistic (r=0.38 ; p= I 0.037) coping methods. These findings support the view that uncertainty is appraised on a continuum in which both danger and opportunity exist, but fluctuate depending on daily circumstances. At the same times spouses may have: a) viewed surgery as an opportunity so used evasive and fatalistic methods to maintain their uncertainty and b) appraised surgery as a danger so used evasive and supportant methods to decrease their uncertainty. Pearson Product Moment Correlations were also utilized to determine whether uncertainty was related to emotional distress. The results of these correlations identified that total uncertainty (r=0.61; p=0.000) and the factors of ambiguity (r=0.65; p=0.000) and complexity (r=0.48; p=0.007) were positively related to total emotional distress. Uncertainty may have increased the amount of emotional distress experienced by the spouses. On the other hand, emotional responses may have affected the spouses ability to cognitively process information and created the uncertainty. This study provides insight into the interactive relationships that exist between perceived uncertainty, coping methods and emotional distress. Implications suggest that nursing strategies must deal with emotion-focused coping in uncertain situations