Are “Superwomen” without social support at risk for postpartum depression and anxiety?

ABSTRACT

Postpartum depression and anxiety are common among women. Previous research has found perfectionism and the lack of social support to be associated with psychological distress. This study examined (1) social support as a protective factor against postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms and perfectionism as a risk factor; (2) associations between different types of social support and postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms; and (3) social support as a moderator between the relationship of perfectionism and postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms. A total of 596 postpartum participants were included. Participants completed measures on postpartum depression, anxiety, social support, and perfectionism. Multivariate regressions revealed perfectionism was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms but predicted anxiety symptoms. Social support was a significant protective factor against depressive and anxiety symptoms. All support subscales were significantly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, with support from friends having the largest effect size (partial η² = .061). High levels of support significantly moderated the relationship between perfectionism and depressive symptoms, β = .003, 95% CI [.0006, .005], t (592) = 2.53, p = .012, and average and high levels of support significantly moderated the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety symptoms, β = .0023, 95% CI [.0002, .004], t (592) = 2.13, p = .03. These results emphasize the importance of social support for postpartum women’s mental health, especially for “Superwomen” with perfectionistic tendencies. Implications for healthcare and policies are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Perfectionism
• postpartum anxiety
• postpartum depression
• social support

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Lyke and Dr. Sara Martino for their support and feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. The authors also thank the participants who completed this study and Stockton University for providing the Research Experience for Undergraduates award used towards participant incentives.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Stockton University’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) award.