Nursing faculty members (from left) Michelle Barrier, Julie Bertram and Christina Castellano recently had their research recognized with a Distinguished Abstract award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)
Christina Castellano knows firsthand how important it is to acknowledge the different hats that student parents wear.
Now an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Castellano earned her PhD in nursing while raising four kids under 9 years old. Over the years, she’s focused her research primarily on perinatal and postpartum support, including a recent study on the benefits of peer support groups for nursing students who are also mothers.
Working with Assistant Teaching Professor Michelle Barrier and Associate Professor Julie Bertram, Castellano conducted six focus groups with a cohort of BSN students to learn more about their experience as student parents. They asked students questions related to their identity as both a student and a mom, how they navigated challenges balancing those responsibilities and their experiences with professors and other students. While the students were all part of the same cohort, many didn’t realize that they shared the experience of being moms. Overall, students said they found the peer support groups to be helpful, though they noted that because the project was conducted during an academically challenging semester, it would have been much more beneficial at the beginning of their program.
Castellano had initially viewed the focus groups as more of a pilot project, so she was shocked to find out their work had been recognized by the Midwest Nursing Research Society. Earlier this month, “Empowering Student Mothers in University, a Qualitative Exploration” was among 13 projects selected as Distinguished Abstracts for the MNRS 50th Annual Research Conference. In addition to the recognition, Castellano, Barrier and Bertram will share a poster presentation at the conference, held March 30 through April 2 in St. Louis.
Moving forward, the group plans to continue researching the effectiveness and reasons for participation in these support groups, homing in on the types of research questions that would be most beneficial for the university population.
They will also expand the research outside of the College of Nursing to host support groups for students university-wide. They’ve partnered with Robin Kimberlin and her team in Student Advocacy and Care, who have trained faculty and staff to host non-peer support groups, and are currently working to identify ways that the peer support groups could reach more students university-wide.
Castellano believes the recognition demonstrates that even a small project can make a big impact. It also speaks to the importance of supporting student parents, who tend to perform better academically when they feel supported.
“We serve a very diverse student population with a lot of student parents, so it’s important to make sure that they have the support they need,” Castellano said. “If we can support them – or even recognize them – in those multiple roles, then student parents tend to do better academically. For me, it was important because I recognize how powerful peer support can be as a peer mentor, peer facilitator and a former student parent myself.”
