A longitudinal study of the stress-buffering effect of social support on postpartum depression: a structural equation modeling approach
Miao Yu, McClain Sampson, Yu Liu, Allen Rubin
Abstract
PURPOSE: Postpartum depression (PPD) impacts about one out of eight new mothers. Research has demonstrated that social support is a protector of PPD. Nevertheless, there has been disagreement on how social support influences depression. The objective is to test two theories - main-effect theory and stress-buffering theory of social support on PPD with different definitions of stress and two types of social support. METHODS: Secondary longitudinal data from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect were used. Parenting stress and difficult life circumstances (DLC) measured at six-month postpartum was used to predict the changes in depression from six- to 12-month postpartum; social support at six-month postpartum was conceptualized as a moderator between stress and PPD. Structural Equation Modeling was adopted for the longitudinal analyses. RESULTS: DLC and parental distress both showed long-lasting impacts on PPD. Social support was not found to have a direct or indirect effect on PPD. Neither the stress-buffering theory nor the main-effect model was endorsed by this study. CONCLUSION: Interventions that are accessible to new mothers and aim to improve self-efficacy are recommended. Measures with higher psychometric quality should be used in moderation research. More longitudinal studies with shorter lags between measurement occasions are warranted.