The association between perceived relationship discord at childbirth and parental postpartum depressive symptoms: a comparison of mothers and fathers in Sweden

Figures & data

Figure 1. Included couples of the present study.

Table I. Dyadic Consensus Subscale (DCS) presenting differences between mothers and fathers using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The instruction in the questionnaire read: ‘Most people have disagreements in their relationship. Please make an assessment of the extent to which you and your partner agree or disagree’.

Item content	Positive ranks (Father's score >Mother's score) n (%)	Negative ranks (Father's score <Mother's score) n (%)	Ties (Father's score = Mother's score) n (%)	Mean positive ranks	Mean negative ranks	P values
Handling finances	57 (19.4)	44 (15.0)	193 (65.6)	50.85	51.19	0.228
Recreational activities	52 (17.8)	77 (26.4)	163 (55.8)	63.48	66.03	0.024*
Religion	43 (15.4)	46 (16.5)	190 (68.1)	46.73	43.38	0.975
Friends	44 (15.0)	90 (30.6)	160 (54.4)	65.91	68.25	< 0.001***
Conventions (correct or proper behaviour)	58 (20.9)	58 (20.9)	161 (58.1)	61.91	55.09	0.549
Philosophy of life	62 (21.5)	75 (26.0)	152 (52.6)	70.18	68.03	0.372
Socializing with family and friends	58 (19.9)	67 (23.0)	166 (57.0)	61.41	64.37	0.312
Aims and life goals	53 (18.4)	86 (29.9)	149 (51.7)	69.51	70.30	0.006**
Time together	48 (16.6)	78 (26.9)	164 (56.6)	65.56	62.23	0.024*
Important decisions	47 (16.0)	70 (23.9)	176 (60.1)	60.77	57.81	0.071
Household tasks	83 (28.6)	54 (18.6)	153 (52.8)	70.83	66.19	0.007**
Leisure time interests and activities	57 (19.5)	81 (27.7)	154 (52.7)	68.98	69.86	0.045*
Decisions regarding career/personal development	51 (17.5)	86 (29.6)	154 (52.9)	65.67	70.98	0.001**
Total DCS score	101 (39.8)	113 (44.5)	40 (15.7)	99.98	114.22	0.121

Note: Significant p-values are bold-faced. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.*

Table II. Age, first child, and education level among mothers and fathers with and without depressive symptoms.

	Mothers			Fathers
	With depressive symptoms	Without depressive symptoms	P value	With depressive symptoms	Without depressive symptoms	P value
Mean age, years (SD)	30.6 (4.46)	29.9 (5.03)	0.393	32.5 (5.15)	33.0 (5.65)	0.666
First child	45.2%	41.9%	0.692	40.9%	44.7%	0.730
Comprehensive school, 9 y	7.1%	5.1%	0.789	0%	5.3%	0.167
High school, <12 y	61.9%	59.9%		90.9%	73%
University, ≥12 y	31.0%	35.0%		9.1%	21.7%

Table III. Relationship discord for mothers and fathers with and without depressive symptoms, calculated with the Mann–Whitney test. EPDS cut-off of >9.

	Mothers			Fathers
	With depressive symptoms	Without depressive symptoms		With depressive symptoms	Without depressive symptoms
Item content	Mean rank	Mean rank	P value	Mean rank	Mean rank	P value
Handling finances	121.32	130.46	0.380	102.64	128.78	0.059
Recreational activities	110.90	131.28	0.065	93.14	129.69	0.009**
Religion	112.24	127.51	0.108	121.45	122.59	0.929
Friends	101.07	134.30	0.003**	109.23	128.15	0.182
Conventions (correct or proper behaviour)	111.84	129.93	0.096	104.83	123.54	0.192
Philosophy of life	100.20	133.33	0.002**	109.36	127.06	0.229
Socializing with family and friends	106.32	132.73	0.017*	98.30	128.66	0.035*
Aims and life goals	112.09	131.63	0.092	111.48	125.77	0.322
Time together	115.57	130.97	0.170	83.59	129.54	0.001**
Important decisions	108.77	132.84	0.032*	88.59	130.13	0.004**
Household tasks	108.46	132.32	0.034*	84.71	129.24	0.002**
Leisure time interests and activities	114.24	131.22	0.124	82.86	130.67	0.001**
Decisions regarding career/personal development	114.23	131.22	0.135	99.93	127.97	0.048*
Total DCS score	92.73	127.37	0.004**	67.74	118.79	0.002**

Note: Significant p-values are bold-faced. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.*