Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Maternal Mental Health in The Postpartum Period in Ekiti State
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Abstract
Background: This study examined the prevalence and psychosocial predictors of postpartum depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among postpartum women.
Method: A cross-sectional design was adopted, and data were collected from 368 respondents using validated instruments, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), PTSD Checklist (PCL-5), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).
Results: Findings revealed that 77.18% of respondents did not present clinically significant postpartum depression, while 15.48% and 7.34% exhibited mild and higher-risk depressive symptoms. For anxiety, 62.77% reported minimal symptoms, whereas 15.76% experienced moderate to severe anxiety. Regarding PTSD, 41.30% had no or minimal symptoms, while 27.99% demonstrated moderate to severe symptoms. Regression analysis indicated that psychosocial variables significantly predicted postpartum mental health outcomes. For depression, the model explained 49% of the variance (R² = 0.49, F = 19.62, p < 0.001), with psychological resilience (β = -0.51, p < 0.001) and significant other support (β = -0.33, p = 0.001) emerging as the strongest predictors. Similar patterns were observed for anxiety (R² = 0.41, F = 14.87, p = 0.013) and PTSD (R² = 0.53, F = 23.41, p < 0.001), where higher social support and resilience were consistently associated with reduced symptom severity.
Conclusion: The study therefore proves that psychological resilience and social support played a significant role in influencing the mental health outcomes of the participants after childbirth compared to their sociodemographic factors.
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