Maternal personality, social support, and changes in depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms during pregnancy and after delivery: A prospective-longitudinal study

The role of maternal personality and perceived social support for peripartum changes in psychopathological symptoms remains unresolved.

In a regional-epidemiological sample of 306 women, depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms were assessed three times during pregnancy and three times after delivery with the 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. In pregnancy, the Big Five personality traits and perceived social support were assessed with the short version of the Big Five Inventory and the Social Support Questionnaire.

Multilevel analyses revealed that depressive (b = -0.055) and stress (b = -0.047) symptoms decreased from early to late pregnancy. After delivery, anxiety symptoms were lower (two months postpartum: b = -0.193; four/ 16 months postpartum: b = -0.274), but stress symptoms were higher (two months postpartum: b = 0.468; four/ 16 months postpartum: b = 0.320) than during pregnancy. Across the peripartum period, more conscientious and more extraverted women experienced lower depressive and stress symptoms (b = -0.147 to -0.177), and more emotionally stable women experienced lower depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms (b = -0.294 to -0.415). More emotionally stable women more strongly increased in anxiety during pregnancy (b = 0.019), and more extraverted women less strongly increased in depression after delivery (b = -0.010). Moreover, peripartum depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms were lower in women with higher perceived social support (b = -0.225 to -0.308).

Less emotionally stable, less conscientious, and less extraverted women and women with lower perceived social support seem to be at increased risk for peripartum psychopathological symptoms and might thus particularly profit from targeted prevention.