title: The impact of child-rearing status on perceptual and behavioural predictors of ambulatory blood pressure variation among working women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Past studies have shown that diurnal blood pressure varies between working women with and without children. Understanding of how perceptual and behavioural factors affect this relationship is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study aim was to evaluate whether perceptions and behaviours differentially influenced ambulatory blood pressure variation across changing daily environments between working women with and without children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women (83 with children, 157 without) working as secretaries or technicians were studied. Anthropometric, demographic, questionnaire and ambulatory blood pressure data were collected. Principal component analysis was utilized to create perceptual and behavioural factors from questionnaire items. Sequential stepwise regression and MANCOVA analyses were used to model blood pressure variation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Diurnal levels and variation in ambulatory blood pressures were similar between women with and without children. Those with children were older, shorter, heavier; more ethnically diverse, had a smaller social support network, perceived less stress and difficulty on the job and reported a better balance between work and home responsibilities then women without children (all significant at p < 0.05). Perceptual and behavioural predictors of work, home and sleep blood pressures differed between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are significant differences in biological and behavioural predictors of ambulatory blood pressure between women with and without children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Decker School of Nursing, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA. bmcname2@binghamton.edu
authors.forename: Benjamin G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: McNamee
authors.forename: Gary D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: James
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*