Department of Psychology, Developmental and Biological Psychology Unit, Heidelberg University, Hauptstraße 47-51, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Psychological Methodology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024 Oct 12;24(1):664. doi: 10.1186/s12884-024-06757-9.
Pregnancy and childbirth are critical life events which lead to significant changes in family structures and roles, thus having a substantial impact on partner relationship and maternal wellbeing. A dysfunctional partnership during this critical time of life has been associated with maternal depressiveness. However, sub-components of partnership quality and the causal relation with maternal symptoms of depression in the perinatal period have been sparsely studied so far. The current study aims to longitudinally assess the course of relationship quality and its sub-components from pregnancy to postpartum and to test a potential causal association with maternal symptoms of depression in the perinatal period.
Differing from previous studies, partnership quality and symptoms of depression have been assessed prospectively and longitudinally from an early stage of pregnancy (second trimester) until six months postpartum. Cross-lagged panel models were applied to investigate a potential causal relationship between partnership quality and maternal depressive symptoms.
Relationship quality decreased significantly during the transition to parenthood (p < .05) with the steepest decline referring to tenderness (p < .001). We also found a substantial association of relationship quality and maternal depressiveness, but no indication for a clear causal direction of this association.
Our results suggest that relationship quality and maternal depressiveness are substantially related in the perinatal period, thus pointing to the need of early prevention and intervention programs for peripartum women and their partners to prevent adverse outcome for the couple and the family.
妊娠和分娩是重要的人生事件，会导致家庭结构和角色发生重大变化，从而对伴侣关系和产妇幸福感产生重大影响。在生命的这个关键时期，功能失调的伴侣关系与产妇抑郁有关。然而，迄今为止，伴侣关系质量的子成分及其与围产期产妇抑郁症状的因果关系研究甚少。本研究旨在从妊娠到产后纵向评估关系质量及其子成分的变化过程，并检验围产期产妇抑郁症状与伴侣关系质量之间的潜在因果关系。
与以往研究不同，本研究从妊娠早期（孕中期）到产后 6 个月，前瞻性和纵向评估了伴侣关系质量和抑郁症状。采用交叉滞后面板模型来研究伴侣关系质量和产妇抑郁症状之间潜在的因果关系。
在向父母身份转变的过程中，伴侣关系质量显著下降（p<0.05），其中亲密感的下降最为明显（p<0.001）。我们还发现伴侣关系质量和产妇抑郁之间存在显著关联，但这种关联的因果方向并不明确。
我们的研究结果表明，在围产期，伴侣关系质量和产妇抑郁之间存在实质性关联，因此需要针对围产期妇女及其伴侣开展早期预防和干预计划，以防止夫妻和家庭出现不良后果。
