scholarly journals Psychometric Validation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support During Pregnancy in Rural Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sharif ◽  
Ahmed Zaidi ◽  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Abid Malik ◽  
Ashley Hagaman ◽  
...  

Background: The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) is a short and reliable instrument that assesses perceived social support from the social network of an individual. A previous study in Pakistan among postpartum women has demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure in contrast to the original three-factor structure. The emergence of a one-factor structure for postpartum women in Pakistan may be due to traditional postpartum practices unique to the women of the subcontinent. Building upon the previous evidence, this study aims to explore the psychometric properties of MSPSS among pregnant women in their third trimester in rural Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2014 to February 2016, in rural Pakistan. A sample of 1,154 pregnant women (aged ≥ 18 years) in their third trimester who were registered with the local Lady Health Worker Program and were living in the north of the Punjab Province was included in this study. They were assessed using Urdu translated scales of Patient Health Questionnaire, MSPSS, Maternal Social Support Index, and Perceived Stress Scale. Principal Axis Factoring was used to assess the construct validity of the MSPSS.Results: The MSPSS scale showed an excellent internal consistency, yielding a Cronbach's α-value of 0.933. The MSPSS scale exhibited an excellent construct validity, and confirmatory factor analysis retained three factors (family, friends, and significant others) for both the depressed and non-depressed samples. Internal reliability and construct validity were also established.Conclusion: The psychometric findings suggest that the tridimensional structure of MSPSS is a valid and reliable measure of perceived social support among the Pakistani population with and without perinatal depression. The perceived social support is an important predictor of maternal mental well-being and psychopathologies, and the MSPSS can serve as a useful tool in mental health research in Pakistan.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth K. Ertmann ◽  
Christine W. Bang ◽  
Margit Kriegbaum ◽  
Mette S. Væver ◽  
Jakob Kragstrup ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Development of the maternal antenatal attachment (MAA) constitutes an important aspect of the transition into motherhood. Early identification of women at risk of developing a poor MAA provides possibilities for preventive interventions targeting maternal mental health and the emerging mother-infant relationship. In this study, we investigate the relative importance of an extensive set of psychosocial, pregnancy-related, and physiological factors measured in the first trimester of pregnancy for MAA measured in third trimester. Methods A prospective study was conducted among pregnant women in Danish general practice (GP). Data were obtained in the first and the third trimester from pregnancy health records and electronic questionnaires associated with routine GP antenatal care visits. The Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS) was used to assess maternal antenatal attachment. The relative importance of potential determinants of maternal antenatal attachment was assessed by the relative contribution of each factor to the fit (R2) calculated from multivariable regression models. Results The sample consisted of 1328 women. Low antenatal attachment (Total MAAS ≤ 75) was observed for 513 (38.6%) women. Perceived social support (having someone to talk to and having access to practical help when needed) emerged as the most important determinant. Furthermore, scores on the MAAS decreased with worse self-rated health, poor physical fitness, depression, increasing age, having given birth previously, and higher education. Conclusion Pregnant women reporting lack of social support and general low physical and mental well-being early in pregnancy may be at risk for developing a poor MAA. An approach targeting both psychosocial and physiological well-being may positively influence expectant mothers’ successful adaptation to motherhood.


Author(s):  
Laura Andreu-Pejó ◽  
Verónica Martínez-Borba ◽  
Carlos Suso-Ribera ◽  
Jorge Osma

Background: Research exploring the relationship between personality and important pregnancy outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support) tends to be cross-sectional, arguably due to the difficulties of conducting longitudinal and mental health research in this population. The objective of this study is to use a web-based solution to longitudinally explore how personality traits are associated, not only with the co-occurrence of these outcomes but also with their evolution during pregnancy. Stability and change of these outcomes will also be investigated. Methods: The sample included 85 pregnant women attending several medical centers in Spain. The web-based assessment included sociodemographic and obstetric variables (ad hoc) and personality (at the second trimester only), and outcomes at both the second and the third trimester (i.e., depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support). Results: The results showed that adjustment worsened from the second to the third trimester of pregnancy. Neuroticism (N), low extraversion (E), and psychoticism (P) were cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with outcomes. In addition, N and, to a lesser extent P, uniquely contributed to the evolution of these outcomes in the multivariate analyses, including autoregressions. Conclusion: Personality and especially N and P should be evaluated early during pregnancy mental health screening. The use of a web page appears to be a useful tool for that purpose. Technologies might also help disseminate mental health prevention programs for these women, which would be especially recommended for those with a personality profile characterized by high N and P and, to a lesser extent, low E.


GeroPsych ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Oberhauser ◽  
Andreas B. Neubauer ◽  
Eva-Marie Kessler

Abstract. Conflict avoidance increases across the adult lifespan. This cross-sectional study looks at conflict avoidance as part of a mechanism to regulate belongingness needs ( Sheldon, 2011 ). We assumed that older adults perceive more threats to their belongingness when they contemplate their future, and that they preventively react with avoidance coping. We set up a model predicting conflict avoidance that included perceptions of future nonbelonging, termed anticipated loneliness, and other predictors including sociodemographics, indicators of subjective well-being and perceived social support (N = 331, aged 40–87). Anticipated loneliness predicted conflict avoidance above all other predictors and partially mediated the age-association of conflict avoidance. Results suggest that belongingness regulation accounts may deepen our understanding of conflict avoidance in the second half of life.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Narendra Kumar Singh ◽  
Nishant Goyal

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with a high familial, social and economic burden. Schizophrenia is also associated with a high level of disability which may create impediments on the social and economic areas of the patients as well as on their respective family networks. Families with schizophrenia may encounter problems such as impairment of health and well being of other family members, restriction of social activities of the family members and shrinking of support from the social network. Aims: The present study examined the difference in perceived social support and burden of care between the male and female caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study examining the difference in perceived social support and burden of care between the male and female caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 60 (30 male and 30 female) caregivers of the patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia as per ICD-10-DCR. Results and Conclusion: This study revealed that male caregivers perceived more social support and less burden of care as compared to female caregivers. Key words: Gender, social support, burden


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Dekuo Liang ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Liying Xia ◽  
Dawei Xu

Little is known regarding the life satisfaction of rural-to-urban migrants in China. In this study we assessed whether self-esteem and perceived social support mediated the association between rural-to-urban migrants' acculturative stress and life satisfaction. We use convenience sampling to recruit 712 migrants who were employed at construction sites in Nanjing for the study. Results reveal that acculturative stress was negatively related to self-esteem, perceived social support, and life satisfaction; self-esteem was positively associated with perceived social support and life satisfaction; and perceived social support was a significant and positive predictor of life satisfaction. In addition, we found that self-esteem and perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and life satisfaction. Our findings provide a better understanding of life satisfaction over the course of migration, and add to knowledge of psychological well-being and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 198-199
Author(s):  
Charu Verma ◽  
Mengting Li ◽  
XinQi Dong

Abstract Most existing studies have examined the relationship between social support and health in cross-sectional data. However, the changing dynamics of social support over time and its relationship with all-cause mortality have not been well explored. Using data from the Pine Study (N = 3,157), this study examined whether social support was associated with time of death at an 8 years follow-up among older Chinese Americans. Social support from a spouse, family members and friend were collected at the baseline using an HRS social support scale. Perceived social support and time of death were ascertained from the baseline through wave 4. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess associations of perceived support with the risk of all-cause mortality using time-varying covariate analyses. Covariates included age, sex, education, income, and medical comorbidities. All study participants were followed up for 8 years, during which 492 deaths occurred. In multivariable analyses, the results showed that positive family support [HR 0.91; 95% CI (0.86, 0.98)] and overall social support [HR 0.95; 95% CI (0.92,0.98)] were significantly associated with a lower risk of 8-year mortality. Results demonstrate robust association in which perceived positive family and overall social support over time had a protective effect on all-cause mortality risk in older Chinese Americans. Interventions could focus on older adults with low social support and protect their health and well-being. Future studies could further explore why social support from family is different from social support from other sources regarding mortality risk in older Chinese Americans.


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