The Mediation Effect of Coping Strategies Between Personality and Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Complicated by Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is a disorder that affects many people and its complications can cause serious damage to health. In pregnancy, it is even more serious with risks both to pregnant women and their fetuses. This study investigated the role played by personality and coping strategies in blood pressure levels during pregnancy. Its specific goal was to study whether coping strategies can mediate the effect of personality in pregnancy complicated by hypertension. Methods: Assessment of a sample of 351 pregnant women, encompassing 192 pregnancies complicated by hypertension. This is a cross-sectional study where personality traits were measured by the Five-Factor Model and coping was evaluated by the Jalowiec´s Coping Inventory. Results: Personality can partially predict systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Openness to experience trait and emotion focused coping correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure was predicted by openness to experience (β=-.15; p<.05). Systolic blood pressure was also predicted by openness to experience (β =-.14; p<.05). Conclusions: It is suggested to reinforce the development of coping strategies that are more focused on the problem than on emotion, in order to avoid negative effects of emotional coping in blood pressure in pregnancy.