Maternal Anxiety and Its Associated Factors During the First and Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Serbia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Sample Characteristics (N=358)

Sample Characteristics	Pregnant Women (N=358)
	Number	Percentage%
Years of school education
<12 years	176	(49.2)
12 or more years	182	(50.8)
Data collecting period
First wave of the COVID-19 pandemic	117	(32.7)
In Serbia (April and May 2020)
Second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
In Serbia (June – October 2020)	241	(67.3)
Employment status
Employed	237	(66.2)
Unemployed	121	(33.8)
Number of children
One child	172	(48)
Two or more children	186	(52)
Pregnancy health condition^a
No complications in pregnancy	190	(53.1)
Complications in pregnancy	168	(46.9)
COVID-19 disease in family
No COVID-19 disease in family	206	(57.5)
COVID-19 disease in family	152	(42.5)
COVID-19-related fear
Having no COVID-19 related fear	138	(38.5)
Sometimes have a COVID-19 related fear	113	(31.6)
Having a COVID-19 related fear	107	(29.9)
STAI-S
Low anxiety level	0	(0)
Intermediate anxiety level	242	(67.6)
High anxiety level	116	(32.4)
STAI-T
Low anxiety level	0	(0)
Intermediate anxiety level	205	(57.3)
High anxiety level	153	(42.7)
MSPSS
Low perceived support	0	(0)
Medium perceived support	14	(3.9)
High perceived support	344	(96.1)

Note: ^aPregnancy health condition related to presence of hypertension, diabetes, or preterm delivery symptoms.

Abbreviations: STAI-S, state anxiety; STAI-T, trait anxiety; MSPSS, perceived social support.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics on Maternal Age, State and Trait Anxiety, and Perceived Social Support

Variable	Min.	Max.	Mean	SE	SD
Maternal age	18.00	45.00	30.80	0.32	6.06
STAI-S	31.00	66.00	41.62	0.35	6.60
STAI-T	32.00	68.00	43.67	0.30	5.75
MSPSS	42.00	85.00	76.87	0.38	7.17

Abbreviations: STAI-S, state anxiety; STAI-T, trait anxiety; MSPSS, perceived social support.

Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for Maternal Age, STAI-S, STAI-T and MSPSS Related to COVID-19 Related Fear

	COVID-19 Related Fear	N	Mean	SD	SE
MaternalAge	No	138	30.18	6.15	0.52
	Sometimes	113	31.53	6.06	0.57
	Yes	107	30.81	5.91	0.57
STAI-S	No	138	43.42	6.54	0.56
	Sometimes	113	40.52	5.93	0.56
	Yes	107	40.46	6.90	0.66
STAI-T	No	138	42.60	5.20	0.44
	Sometimes	113	43.84	4.44	0.42
	Yes	107	44.90	7.27	0.70
MSPSS	No	138	76.44	7.23	0.62
	Sometimes	113	76.80	7.15	0.67
	Yes	107	77.50	7.16	0.69

Abbreviations: STAI-S, state anxiety; STAI-T, trait anxiety; MSPSS, perceived social support.

Table 4 Descriptive Statistics for Maternal Age, STAI-T and MSPSS Related to Data Collecting Period

	Data Collecting Period	N	Mean	SD	SE	One-Way ANOVA
MaternalAge	First wave	117	30.26	5.71	0.53	F(1356)=1.381, p=0.241
	Second wave	241	31.06	6.22	0.40
STAI-T	First wave	138	44.36	5.02	0.44	F(1356)=2.483, p=0.116
	Second wave	107	43.34	6.05	0.70
MSPSS	First wave	138	77.03	7.24	0.67	F(1356)=0.077, p=0.781.
	Second wave	107	76.80	7.15	0.46

Abbreviations: STAI-T, trait anxiety; MSPSS, perceived social support.

Table 5 Correlation Between Maternal Age, STAI-S, STAI-T and MSPSS in the First and Second Data Collecting Period

		First Data Collecting Period				Second Data Collecting Period
		Maternal Age	STAI-S	STAI-T	MSPSS	Maternal Age	STAI-S	STAI-T	MSPSS
Maternal Age	Pearson Correlation	1	−0.172	−0.195*	−0.229*	1	−0.094	0.054	−0.031
	Sig. (2-tailed)		0.064	0.035	0.013		0.145	0.408	0.628
STAI-S	Pearson Correlation	−0.172	1	0.132	0.124	−0.094	1	0.274**	0.163*
	Sig. (2-tailed)	0.064		0.156	0.183	0.145		0.000	0.011
STAI-T	Pearson Correlation	−0.195*	0.132	1	−0.068	0.054	0.274**	1	−0.148*
	Sig. (2-tailed)	0.035	0.156		0.465	0.408	0.000		0.022
MSPSS	Pearson Correlation	−0.229*	0.124	−0.068	1	−0.031	0.163*	−0.148*	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	0.013	0.183	0.465		0.628	0.011	0.022

Note: Significant correlations are marked in grey.

Abbreviations: STAI-S, state anxiety; STAI-T, trait anxiety; MSPSS, perceived social support; Sig., statistical significance.

Table 6 Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Containing Only Statistically Significant Elements

Source	Sig.	Partial Eta Squared	Observed Power
Corrected Model	0.000	0.435	1.000
Intercept	0.016	0.021	0.679
logSTAI-T	0.000	0.120	1.000
logMSPSS	0.000	0.063	0.991
Education * Data collecting period	0.019	0.019	0.652
Education * COVID-19 disease in the family	0.032	0.016	0.574
Data collecting period* COVID-19 related fear	0.001	0.046	0.917
COVID-19 related fear* Employment	0.021	0.027	0.705
COVID-19 disease in the family* Pregnancy health condition	0.047	0.014	0.513
Education* Data collecting period * COVID-19 related fear	0.010	0.032	0.785
Data collecting period* COVID-19 related fear* Employment	0.000	0.068	0.986
COVID-19 disease in the family* COVID-19 related fear* Pregnancy health condition	0.041	0.023	0.614

Notes: Data collecting period is related to the first and second COVID-19 pandemic wave. Pregnancy health condition is related to presence of complications in the pregnancy (hypertension, diabetes, or preterm delivery symptoms). Unrelated interactions are marked in gray.

Abbreviations: Sig., statistical significance; logSTAI-T, the logarithm of trait anxiety; logMSPSS, the logarithm of perceived social support.

Figure 1 Marginal means of LogSTAI-S estimated by Univariate General Linear Model for interaction term Education* Data collecting period* COVID-19 related fear.

Notes:

Education ≤ 12 years;

Education > 12 years. (A) Interaction between Education and COVID-19 related fear at first data collection point; (B) Interaction between Education and COVID-19 related fear at second data collecting point. Covariates appearing in the model are evaluated at the following values: logSTAI-T = 1.6353, logMSPSS = 1.8841, logAGE = 1.4786.

Abbreviations: logSTAI-S, the logarithm of state anxiety; logSTAT-T, the logarithm of trait anxiety; logMSPSS, the logarithm of perceived social support; logAGE, the logarithm of maternal age.

Figure 2 Marginal means of LogSTAI-S estimated by Univariate General Linear Model for interaction term Employment *Data collecting period *COVID-19 related fear.

Notes:

Employed;

Non employed. (A) Interaction between Employment and COVID-19 related fear at first data collection point; (B) Interaction between Employment and COVID-19 related fear at second data collection point. Covariates appearing in the model are evaluated at the following values: logSTAI-T = 1.6353, logMSPSS = 1.8841, logAGE = 1.4786.

Abbreviations: logSTAI-S, the logarithm of state anxiety; logSTAT-T, the logarithm of trait anxiety; logMSPSS, the logarithm of perceived social support; logAGE, the logarithm of maternal age.

Table 7 Explanation of New Grouping Variables of Interaction Terms Used in One–Way ANOVA Statistical Test

(A) Explanation of Grouping Variable Values for Interaction Term Education* COVID-19 Disease in the Family.
Education		COVID-19 Disease in the Family	Grouping Value
<12 years		No	1
		Yes	2
12 or more years		No	3
		Yes	4
(B) Explanation of Grouping Variable Values for Interaction Term Education* Data Collecting Period* COVID-19 Related Fear.
Education	Data Collecting Period	COVID-19 Related Fear	Grouping Value
<12 years	First pandemic wave	No	1
		Sometimes	2
		Yes	3
	Second pandemic wave	No	4
		Sometimes	5
		Yes	6
12 or more years	First pandemic wave	No	7
		Sometimes	8
		Yes	9
	Second pandemic wave	No	10
		Sometimes	11
		Yes	12
(C) Explanation of Grouping Variable Values for Interaction Term Employment* Data Collecting Period* COVID-19 Related Fear.
Data Collecting Period	Employment	COVID-19 Related Fear	Grouping Value
First pandemic wave	Unemployed	No	1
		Sometimes	2
		Yes	3
	Employed	No	4
		Sometimes	5
		Yes	6
Second pandemic wave	Unemployed	No	7
		Sometimes	8
		Yes	9
	Employed	No	10
		Sometimes	11
		Yes	12
(D) Explanation of Grouping Variable Values for Interaction Term COVID-19 Disease in the Family* Pregnancy Health Condition* COVID-19 Related Fear.
COVID- 19 Disease in Family	Pregnancy Health Condition	COVID-19 Related Fear	Grouping Value
No	No	No	1
		Sometimes	2
		Yes	3
	Yes	No	4
		Sometimes	5
		Yes	6
Yes	No	No	7
		Sometimes	8
		Yes	9
	Yes	No	10
		Sometimes	11
		Yes	12

Notes: (A) Education* COVID-19 disease in the family; (B) Education* Data collecting period* COVID-19 related fear; (C) Employment* Data collecting period* COVID-19 related fear; (D) COVID-19 disease in the family* Pregnancy health condition* COVID-19 related fear.