Psychological Distress in the Postpartum Period: The Significance of Social Support
Journal of Marriage and the FamilyPublished 1 May 1986
Peter S. Stemp, R. Jay Turner, Samuel Noh
Citations60
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.61
SNIP1.73
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
Abstract
This panel study examines changes in the psychological distress of 280 new mothers over a one-year period. Regression analyses show that when social support is indexed as the extent of the mother's social network, this variable has no impact on changes in psychological distress. However, the cognitive experience of social support and the degree of marital intimacy make significant independent contributions to changes in psychological distress. The results also provide no confirmation for the hypothesis that the elevated levels of psychological distress reported in recent community studies of young mothers can be accounted for by the inclusion of cases of postpartum depression.
Keywords
PsychologyMedicine
PsychometrikaCoefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests
43,211 Citations1951Lee J. Cronbach
Psychosomatic MedicineSocial Support as a Moderator of Life Stress
6,764 Citations1976Sidney Cobb
It appears that social support can protect people in crisis from a wide variety of pathological states: from low birth weight to death, from arthritis through tuberculosis to depression, alcoholism, and the social breakdown syndrome.
Marriage and Family LivingShort Marital-Adjustment and Prediction Tests: Their Reliability and Validity
2,939 Citations1959Harvey J. Locke, Karl M. Wallace
The Journal of Nervous and Mental DiseaseTHE STRESS-BUFFERING ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT
818 Citations1977Alfred Dean, Nan Lin
This paper offers a selective review of the essential status of empirical knowledge, an examination of the nature and significance of social support systems, and detailed proposals for approaching problems of measurement and research design.
SociologySocial Class and Psychiatric Disturbance among Women in an Urban Population
767 Citations1975George W. Brown, Máire Ní Bhrolcháin +1 more
The British Journal of PsychiatryLife Events and Social Support in Puerperal Depression
689 Citations1980Eugene S. Paykel, E. M. Emms +2 more
The findings indicate the importance of social stress in puerperal depression, and postpartum blues were only associated with depression in the absence of life events, suggesting a small hormonal sub-group.
Journal of Health and Social BehaviorSocial Support as a Contingency in Psychological Well-Being
622 Citations1981R. Jay Turner
Journal of Marriage and the FamilyStability and Change in Marriage across the Transition to Parenthood
385 Citations1983Jay Belsky, Graham B. Spanier +1 more
Journal of Health and Social BehaviorClass and Psychological Vulnerability Among Women: The Significance of Social Support and Personal Control
300 Citations1983R. Jay Turner, Samuel Noh
The major conclusion is that when social support and personal control are both high, these variables are entirely adequate to explain the relationship, however, they are perhaps not adequate in other circumstances.
Journal of Marriage and the FamilyTransition to Parenthood: Problems and Gratifications
268 Citations1974Candyce S. Russell
Social Science & Medicine Part A Medical SociologySocial networks: A promising direction for research on the relationship of the social environment to psychiatric disorder
220 Citations1980Daniel P. Mueller
There is a need for systematic investigations of the relationship of social network characteristics to specific psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, and findings indicate that social networks may be particularly important in onset and course of depression.
Normal Stresses during the Transition to Parenthood
198 Citations1980Brent C. Miller, Donna L. Sollie
New England Journal of MedicineRates of Mental Disease Related to Childbearing
128 Citations1963Thomas F. Pugh, Bal K. Jerath +2 more
An attempt to estimate rates of mental illness among the female population characterized according to current reproductive status, prompted by the term "puerperal psychosis" in England.
The British Journal of PsychiatryBehaviour Problems in Pre-School Children: Family and Social Factors
110 Citations1977Naomi Richman
The Journal of Nervous and Mental DiseaseA Development in Social Psychiatry The Systematic Study of Social Bonds
103 Citations1980Scott Henderson
The evidence so far is at least consistent with, but cannot yet prove, the hypothesis that a deficiency in social bonds is a cause of neurosis, which is providing a method for identifying those elements in social relationships which, when deficient, may be causally related to neurosis.
Psychological MedicineMental distress in mothers of pre-school children in Inner London
97 Citations1977Peter Moss, Ian Plewis
The level of mental 'distress' was assessed for a sample of mothers with pre-school children in Inner London and Variables correlating with distress were identified and replicated in a second sample.
Developmental Medicine & Child NeurologyThe Effects of Housing on Pre‐school Children and Their Mothers
79 Citations1974Naomi Richman
In order to study the effects of the type of housing on young children and their mothers, 25 families were interviewed from each of three types of local authority housing: high‐rise flats (tower blocks); low‐rising flats (not higher than four floors); and houses.
Journal of Youth and AdolescenceMeasurement of the psychological well-being of adolescents: The psychometric properties and assessment procedures of the how I feel
74 Citations1977Anne C. Petersen, Sheppard G. Kellam
The How I Feel appears to measure reliably and validly several multi-item constructs representing psychological well-being, including psychopathology and self-esteem.
American Journal of Public Health and the Nations HealthThe effect of obstetric and perinatal events on risk of mental illness in women of childbearing age.
42 Citations1966Ralph S. Paffenbarger, Laura McCabe
The British Journal of PsychiatryAffective Disorder in Mothers of Young Children
21 Citations1982Evelyn J. Bromet, Zahava Solomon +2 more
The rate of affective disorder in 124 mothers of preschool children was found to be lower than in earlier studies, i.e. twelve per cent during the child-rearing years, and eight per cent in the year before interview.