Social support moderates the relation between childhood trauma and prenatal depressive symptoms in adolescent mothers

Depression is a concern during pregnancy, but it is especially prevalent for pregnant adolescents. Because prenatal depression is a strong predictor of postpartum depression and other forms of psychopathology in both mothers and children, it is important to understand potential risk and protective factors for prenatal depression.

The present study examined whether social support buffered the impact of childhood trauma on prenatal depression, and whether social support exerted a stronger buffering effect for adolescents compared to adults.

Self-reported levels of childhood trauma, social support, and prenatal depression were collected in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 682 first-time mothers, 58% were adolescents (n = 396; M_age = 17.38 years) and 42% were adults (n = 286; M_age = 26.29 years).

Using multi-group moderation analyses, we found that pregnant adolescents with more social support were buffered from the effects of childhood trauma on prenatal depression symptoms, but pregnant adults with more social support were not.

Findings support the stress-buffering model in that those with more stressors may benefit more from social support than those with fewer stressors. These results highlight the importance of social support and inform prenatal depression prevention/intervention strategies particularly with pregnant adolescents.