School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Professor, School of Nursing, Sun Yat-sen University, 74#, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou 510089, China.
Midwifery. 2023 Aug;123:103719. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2023.103719. Epub 2023 May 12.
Knowledge of parenting self-efficacy and social support can help healthcare professionals to facilitate the parents' transition to parenthood. However, few studies have explored parenting self-efficacy and social support in Chinese mothers and fathers across six months postpartum. Thus, this study aimed to (a) investigate changes in parenting self-efficacy and social support over the six months postpartum; (b) explore the relationships between parenting self-efficacy and social support; and (c) compare the differences in parenting self-efficacy and social support between the mothers and fathers.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A prospective cohort study was carried out from September 24, 2020, to October 8, 2021, at a local teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. One hundred and sixteen pairs of Chinese parents who gave birth to a single full-term newborn were included in this study.
The Parenting Self-Efficacy Subscale of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale and Social Support Rating Scale were completed within 2-3 days after delivery (T1), six weeks postpartum (T2), three months postpartum (T3), and six months postpartum (T4). Demographic and obstetric information was collected at T1.
Maternal parenting self-efficacy decreased from T1 to T2 and then increased to T3 and T4, while paternal parenting self-efficacy remained stable throughout the six months postpartum. Overall, maternal and paternal social support declined during the six months postpartum. Parenting self-efficacy had a positive correlation with social support. Moreover, maternal subjective support was significantly lower than that of fathers at T1 and T4.
The present study highlighted the changes and relationships between parenting self-efficacy and social support in mothers and fathers across six months postpartum in mainland China. Healthcare professionals should treat mother and father as a system to help their transition to parenthood.
了解父母效能感和社会支持可以帮助医护人员促进父母向父母角色的转变。然而，很少有研究探讨过中国母亲和父亲在产后六个月内的父母效能感和社会支持。因此，本研究旨在：（a）调查产后六个月内父母效能感和社会支持的变化；（b）探讨父母效能感和社会支持之间的关系；（c）比较母亲和父亲在父母效能感和社会支持方面的差异。
设计、地点和参与者：本前瞻性队列研究于 2020 年 9 月 24 日至 2021 年 10 月 8 日在中国广州的一家当地教学医院进行。共纳入 116 对中国父母，他们均生育了一名足月新生儿。
在产后 2-3 天（T1）、产后 6 周（T2）、3 个月（T3）和 6 个月（T4）时，使用父母效能感量表的父母效能感子量表和社会支持评定量表完成测量。在 T1 时收集人口统计学和产科信息。
母亲的父母效能感从 T1 下降到 T2，然后在 T3 和 T4 上升，而父亲的父母效能感在整个产后 6 个月期间保持稳定。总的来说，母亲和父亲的社会支持在产后 6 个月内下降。父母效能感与社会支持呈正相关。此外，母亲的主观支持在 T1 和 T4 时明显低于父亲。
本研究强调了中国内地母亲和父亲在产后 6 个月内父母效能感和社会支持的变化及其关系。医护人员应将母亲和父亲视为一个系统，以帮助他们向父母角色转变。
