Adversity, social capital, and mental distress among mothers of small children: A cross-sectional study in three low and middle-income countries

Jewel Gausman, S Bryn Austin, S V Subramanian and Ana Langer

PLOS ONE, 2020, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Maternal mental health is becoming recognized as a global health priority. Mental distress among mothers of young children may be exacerbated by exposure to adversity. Social capital may buffer the impact of adversity on mental distress during the postnatal period and beyond. This paper examines the relationship between adversity, cognitive social capital and mental distress among mothers of young children in three low and middle-income countries. Methods: This study uses data from the Young Lives study on 5,485 women from Ethiopia, India, and Vietnam. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between exposure to stressful life events (SLEs) and mental distress in women between 6 months and 1.5 years post-partum. Logistic and linear regression was used to examine the potential for effect modification by social capital. Results: The proportion of women with mental distress during the period between 6–18 months following the birth of a child in the sample was 32.6% in Ethiopia, 30.5% in India and 21.1% in Vietnam. For each additional SLE to which a woman was exposed, the odds of MMD increased by 1.28 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.36; p

Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0228435

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228435

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