Coping strategies may help explain why some minority women experience more stress and poorer birth outcomes, so a psychometrically sound instrument to assess coping is needed. We examined the psychometric properties, readability, and correlates of coping in pregnant Black (n = 186) and Hispanic (n = 220) women using the Brief COPE. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis tested psychometric properties. The Flesch–Kincaid Reading Level test assessed readability. Linear regression models tested correlates of coping. Findings suggested two factors for the questionnaire: active and disengaged coping, as well as adequate reliability, validity, and readability level. For disengaged coping, Cronbach’s α was .78 (English) and .70 (Spanish), and for active coping .86 (English) and .92 (Spanish). A two group confirmatory factor analysis revealed both minority groups had equivalent factor loadings. The reading level was at the sixth grade. Age, education, and gravidity were all found to be significant correlates with active coping.

Nearly half of nonsmoking pregnant women in New York City had elevated cotinine levels despite living in a city with comprehensive tobacco control policies. Health professionals need to assess sources of SHS exposure during pregnancy and promote smoke-free environments to improve maternal and fetal health.

Objective To determine the predictive capability of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) as a biomarker of preterm birth (PTB) in minority women. Study design Venous blood samples were obtained at 22–24 weeks’ gestation in a prospective, descriptive study of 707 minority women experiencing low-risk pregnancies. CRH was analyzed using a radioimmunoassay and methanol extraction protocol. Result CRH predicted preterm birth in both African American and Hispanic women. The odds ratio was 1.8 times greater for having a PTB if the CRH level was ≥ 24 pg/ml. The median CRH for African American women having a PTB was 46.6 pg/ml and for Hispanic women was 35.03 pg/ml. Using a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve, the threshold for CRH among the African American women was 30.6 pg/ml and among the Hispanic women was 27.4 pg/ml. Conclusion CRH may be an important biomarker for predicting PTB in minority women, especially when combined with other predictors.

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