Can We Predict the Evolution of Depressive Symptoms, Adjustment, and Perceived Social Support of Pregnant Women from Their Personality Characteristics? a Technology-Supported Longitudinal Study

Laura Andreu-Pejó, Verónica Martínez-Borba, Carlos Suso-Ribera and Jorge Osma
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Laura Andreu-Pejó: Nursing Department, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Castelló de la Plana, 12071 Valencia, Spain
Verónica Martínez-Borba: Nursing Department, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Castelló de la Plana, 12071 Valencia, Spain
Carlos Suso-Ribera: Nursing Department, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Castelló de la Plana, 12071 Valencia, Spain
Jorge Osma: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Background : Research exploring the relationship between personality and important pregnancy outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support) tends to be cross-sectional, arguably due to the difficulties of conducting longitudinal and mental health research in this population. The objective of this study is to use a web-based solution to longitudinally explore how personality traits are associated, not only with the co-occurrence of these outcomes but also with their evolution during pregnancy. Stability and change of these outcomes will also be investigated. Methods : The sample included 85 pregnant women attending several medical centers in Spain. The web-based assessment included sociodemographic and obstetric variables (ad hoc) and personality (at the second trimester only), and outcomes at both the second and the third trimester (i.e., depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support). Results : The results showed that adjustment worsened from the second to the third trimester of pregnancy. Neuroticism (N), low extraversion (E), and psychoticism (P) were cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with outcomes. In addition, N and, to a lesser extent P, uniquely contributed to the evolution of these outcomes in the multivariate analyses, including autoregressions. Conclusion : Personality and especially N and P should be evaluated early during pregnancy mental health screening. The use of a web page appears to be a useful tool for that purpose. Technologies might also help disseminate mental health prevention programs for these women, which would be especially recommended for those with a personality profile characterized by high N and P and, to a lesser extent, low E.

Keywords: information and communication technologies; pregnancy; personality; depression; adjustment; social support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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