The moderating role of resilience resources in the association between stressful life events and symptoms of postpartum depression

Abstract

Background: One in seven women experience postpartum depression, posing a serious public health concern. One of the most robust predictors of elevated postpartum depressive symptoms is major stressful life events that occur during pregnancy. Having greater resilience resources that promote successful adaptation to stressful demands may be protective in the face of stress during pregnancy. The current study tested whether three resilience resources-mastery, dispositional optimism, and spirituality-each predicted early symptoms of postpartum depression and moderated the hypothesized association between experiencing stressful life events during pregnancy and symptoms of postpartum depression. Methods: The sample included 233 women who participated in a prospective longitudinal study from pregnancy through postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed at approximately 4 to 8 weeks after birth, whereas resilience resources and stressful life events were measured in pregnancy. Multiple linear regressions were used to test hypotheses. Results: Stressful life events predicted greater symptoms of depression postpartum. Mastery and optimism predicted fewer symptoms of depression postpartum. Mastery moderated the association between stressful life events and symptoms of depression when controlling for previous psychiatric history, t(231) = -1.97, p=.0497. Limitations: There was some attrition among study participants across timepoints, which was accounted for in analyses with multiple imputation. Conclusions: These findings point to the protective nature of a mother's sense of mastery in the face of major life stressors during pregnancy and suggest this is an important construct to target in interventions addressing postpartum depression.

Factors affecting the mental health of pregnant women using UK maternity services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study

“…Pregnancy is a significant life stage tied to events that can affect mental health and wellbeing [ 1 ]. Relationship difficulties, [ 2 ] childcare responsibilities, [ 3 ] long-term health conditions, [ 4 ] financial hardship, [ 5 ] stressful life events, [ 6 ] and natural disasters, [ 7 ] can also contribute towards maternal mental ill health. Many women experience profound changes in their identity, self-concept, and sense of meaning during parenthood [ 8 ].…”

The Role of Social Support on Resilience in People Living With HIV/AIDS : A Systematic Literature Review

“…In a study, it was explained that having high resilience was an important factor for individuals to be able to deal with stressful situations and was used as a protective factor for both physical and mental health (Julian et al, 2021). Resilience is very important for PLWHA so that they can assist in the process of adaptation to the conditions of the disease they are experiencing (Wu et al, 2015).…”

“…Efforts to increase resilience/resilience for PLWHA were very important to continue, one of which was through social support (Julian et al, 2021;Huang et al, 2018;Wani, 2020). The problem of decreasing physical health in HIV patients was caused by the psychological impact experienced (Prabhu et al, 2020).…”

Dispositional Optimism, Mode of Delivery, and Perceived Labor Control among Recently Delivered Parturients

“…15,16 There is mounting evidence that low DO is also associated with differences in labor experience including increased fear of the labor process 17 and labor pain 12 as well as mode of delivery. 18 DO 9,13,14 , mode of delivery 19 and lack of control during labor [20][21][22][23][24][25] are linked to elevated risk of postpartum…”

“…[6][7][8] In the perinatal period, data are limited, but lower DO has been associated with higher rates of in vitro fertilization failure, 9 preterm birth and low birth weight, 10 emergent cesarean delivery, 11 and postpartum depression. 9,12,13 It is postulated that baseline differences in DO alter motivational and behavioral factors linked with health outcomes: individuals with higher DO are more likely to engage in health promoting activities (i.e., smoking cessation, medication adherence, and attendance at prenatal care) and, in times of adversity, display healthier psychosocial coping mechanisms such as positive reframing and engagement of their social circle. 14,15 There is mounting evidence that low DO is also associated with differences in labor experience including increased fear of the labor process 16 and labor pain, 11 as well as mode of delivery.…”