Social support and avoidant coping: Correlates of depressed mood during pregnancy in minority women

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate several psychosocia l correlates of depressed mood during pregnancy. The psychosocial factors e xamined included background characteristics (socioeconomic status, planning of pregnancy), perceived social support, and coping styles. Methods. One hundred fifty pregnant lower income, minority women were recru ited from an obstetrics clinic at an urban hospital. Patients completed a b attery of psychosocial measures including measures of social support, copin g style, and depressed mood. Results. Perceived social support and an avoidant coping style were the mos t salient psychosocial correlates of depressed mood during pregnancy, accou nting for 34% of the variance in the model. More specifically, women who re ported less social support satisfaction experienced greater avoidant coping strategies, which was then associated with higher levels of depressed mood . Conclusions. This study suggests that women who perceive less social suppor t satisfaction utilize more avoidant coping strategies and experience great er depressed mood. Thus, although these associations are not indicative of a causal relationship, results raise the possibility that women at-risk for depressed mood during pregnancy can be identified by assessing perceived s ocial support and coping styles. Future prospective studies are needed to t est the causal relationships among these variables. Clinical interventions to target these psychosocial factors during pregnancy are discussed. (C) 20 01 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.