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. 2024 Sep;28(9):1631-1640.
doi: 10.1007/s10995-024-03964-w. Epub 2024 Jun 10.

Risk Perception and Maternal Prenatal Depressive Symptoms in the Early Stage of COVID-19 Pandemic in China: Role of Negative Emotions and Family Sense of Coherence

Mengke Gou #  1 , Luyao Li #  2 , Xi Wang #  1 , Pengbo Yuan  2 , Shuang Li  2 , Yuan Wei  3 , Guangyu Zhou  4
Affiliations

Risk Perception and Maternal Prenatal Depressive Symptoms in the Early Stage of COVID-19 Pandemic in China: Role of Negative Emotions and Family Sense of Coherence

Mengke Gou et al. Matern Child Health J. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Prenatal depression is associated with adverse health outcomes for both mothers and their children. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has presented new risks and challenges for expectant mothers. The aims of the study were to investigate the underlying mechanism between COVID-19 risk perception of Chinese pregnant women and their prenatal depressive symptoms and potential protective factors such as family sense of coherence (FSOC).

Method: A total of 181 Chinese pregnant women (Mage = 31.40 years, SD = 3.67, ranged from 23 to 43) participated in an online survey from April 22 to May 16, 2020. Risk perception and negative emotions (fear and anxiety) related with COVID-19, FSOC, and prenatal depressive symptoms were assessed.

Results: The experience of maternal COVID-19 related negative emotion fully mediated the positive relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and prenatal depressive symptoms of pregnant women (β = 0.12, 95% CI [0.06, 0.19]). When confronting COVID-19 related fear and anxiety, expectant mothers from higher coherent families experienced a significantly lower level of prenatal depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Contextual negative emotional experience was demonstrated to explain how risk perception impacts depressive symptoms during severe public health crisis for pregnant women. FSOC may be a psychological resource protecting pregnant women from experiencing adverse psychological outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Family sense of coherence; Fear and anxiety elicited by COVID-19; Maternal prenatal depression; Risk perception.

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