Emotional states and psychopathological symptoms in couples during pregnancy and post-partum

ABSTRACT

Aims

Comparing depression, anxiety, stress and psychopathological symptomatology in: pregnancy vs. post-partum in men and in women, marital partners’ (men vs. women) in pregnancy and in post-partum.

Background

During perinatal period, couples undergo emotional changes and psychopathological symptoms.

Methods

Descriptive-correlational-longitudinal study. Participants: Couples (n = 67; men and women = 134) interviewed in pregnancy and at 8 months post-partum. Women are younger and more educated than men. For 65.7% of couples, this was the first pregnancy.

Instruments

Sociodemographic and Clinical Questionnaire; Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-42; Brief Symptoms Inventory.

Results

In pregnancy, women’s scores were significantly higher than men’s in anxiety and somatization. In post-natal period, women presented significantly higher scores in somatization. Between pre- and post-natal periods, women’s scores (stress, obsessions-compulsions, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, hostility, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, global severity index, positive symptoms distress index) rose significantly. Men’s positive symptoms distress index rose significantly.

Conclusions

In pregnancy, women show less stress and less psychopathological symptoms than in post-natal period. During pregnancy women are more anxious and somatise more than men. After birth, they keep somatising more. Also, in perinatal period, women’s changes are more salient. The association of conjugality and motherhood-fatherhood development should be deepened in future investigation.

KEYWORDS:

• Conjugality
• couples
• perinatal depression
• anxiety
• stress
• psychopathological symptoms

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.