Published online Apr 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i12.2729
Peer-review started: December 24, 2022
First decision: February 28, 2023
Revised: March 8, 2023
Accepted: March 27, 2023
Article in press: March 27, 2023
Published online: April 26, 2023
Processing time: 122 Days and 7.1 Hours
Postpartum depression is a common mental complication during the postpartum period, and it may lead to long-term cognitive impairment, emotional difficulties, and behavioral problems in both mother and child. Trait mindfulness has proved efficient in improving relationship satisfaction among couples, while marital quality is essential in postpartum depression.
This manuscript investigates the correlations among mindfulness, marital quality, anxiety, and depression in different regions and ethnicities in a large city in western China during the post-corona virus infectious disease-2019 era and whether trait mindfulness mediates the relationship between marital quality and postpartum anxiety and depression among primiparas. Our findings can provide a reference for further application of mindfulness in Chinese postpartum mental disorders.
This observational study aims to investigate the mediating effect of mindfulness levels on relationships between marital quality and postpartum depression among primiparas in southwestern China and provide a reference for the future application of mindfulness in Chinese postpartum mental disorders.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Chongqing, China, from November 2021 and June 2022. The self-administered questionnaire was completed and submitted online through smartphones. The levels of mindfulness, anxiety, depression, and marital quality were respectively investigated by the mindful attention awareness scale, the self-rating anxiety scale, the self-rating depression scale, and the marriage perception scale in these enrolled Han and Tujia primiparas. In contrast, previous studies have paid little attention to the influence of cultural differences in different regions and ethnicities in China on mindfulness levels.
This observational study found no statistically significant difference in trait mindfulness among different regions and ethnicities. Significant negative correlations have been observed between mindfulness levels and postpartum anxiety and depression. The marriage perception scale (MPS)-marital Interaction, MPS-family relationship (FR), and MPS-marital conflict (MC) scores of urban primiparas were higher than those of rural primiparas. Mediation analysis demonstrated a full mediation effect of mindfulness level on the relationship between MPS-FR and postpartum anxiety, MPS-MC and postpartum anxiety, MPS-FR and postpartum depression, and MPS-MC and postpartum depression.
Mindfulness is closely related to the mental health conditions of primiparas due to negative correlations with both postpartum anxiety and depression, and it may have cross-ethnic and trans-regional characteristics. Mindfulness is also negatively correlated with marital conflict, while marital conflict is positively correlated with postpartum anxiety. This study demonstrates a full mediation effect on the relationships between family relationships, marital conflict, and postpartum anxiety and depression. Therefore, attempts can be made to improve postpartum anxiety and depression by increasing levels of mindfulness.
Further prospective studies with more participants from different ethnicities and regions are required in future studies to testify to current findings.