Coping strategies and postpartum depressive symptoms: A structural equation modelling approach

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Perinatal Mental Health

Background:

• Postpartum depression (PPD) is influenced by maternal personality, social support, coping mechanisms, and life stressors.
• Understanding these risk factors is vital for early identification and intervention.
• Neuroticism, perceived social support, life events, and coping strategies are key variables in PPD research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between neuroticism, perceived social support, life events, coping strategies, and postpartum depressive symptoms.
• To utilize Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyze these relationships.
• To assess these associations at 8 and 32 weeks postpartum.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study involving 1626 pregnant women.
• Data collection included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-RS), life events scales, social support questionnaires, and the brief COPE scale.
• Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was applied to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Passive coping strategies were significantly associated with postpartum depressive symptoms at both 8 and 32 weeks postpartum.
• Neuroticism correlated positively with passive coping and negatively with active coping.
• Neuroticism and life stress showed a positive correlation, while social support was negatively correlated with both life stress and neuroticism.

Conclusions:

• Assessment of neuroticism, life events, social support, and coping strategies is recommended for early identification of postpartum depression risk.
• These factors provide valuable insights into the complex etiology of postpartum depressive symptoms.
• Targeted interventions addressing these risk factors may help mitigate PPD.