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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Testing direct and moderating effects of coping styles on the relationship between perceived stress and antenatal
Ying Lau1, Yuqiong Wang, Dennis Ho Keung Kwong
1School of Health Sciences, Macao Polytechnic Institute , Macao , China .
Objective:
The objective of this study was to test the direct and moderating effects of different coping styles in mitigating perceived stress associated with antenatal anxiety symptoms among 755 pregnant women in Chengdu.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire survey was carried out. The Perceived Stress Scale, the Trait Coping Style Questionnaire and the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale were used to measure stress, coping and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the direct and moderating effects of coping styles in the relationship between perceived stress and antenatal anxiety symptoms.
Results:
Direct effects of negative coping (NC) styles were found. Women with higher NC scores were more likely to have anxiety symptoms. Positive coping (PC) styles had moderating effects on perceived stress, whereas NC styles did not.
Conclusion:
The findings of this study highlight the direct and moderating effects of coping styles. This knowledge is important to healthcare professionals in planning health service provision. Health services should dedicate resources to teaching pregnant women how to enhance PC styles, alter NC styles and cultivate optimistic thinking to alleviate anxiety symptoms.
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