Abstract
Aim: The impact of psychosocial and demographic factors on symptoms of postpartum depression remains unclear. This study aimed to explore whether particular maternal sociodemographic variables were associated with postpartum negative thoughts and negative appraisals.
Methods: Data were collected from a community sample of 181 mothers with infants aged 0 to 7 months. Participants completed and returned anonymous questionnaires including the Postnatal Negative Thoughts Questionnaire (PNTQ) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The PNTQ is a self-report scale to detect and measure postpartum negative cognitions. It consists of 2 factors: "baby- related and motherhood negative thoughts" (BRM-NT) and "appraisals of cognition, emotion and situation" (ACES).
Results: Analyses revealed that practical and emotional support and satisfaction with this support were related to low ACES scores, and mothers of infant boys were more likely to have high ACES scores (ie, more negative appraisals of their own thinking). Satisfaction with practical and emotional support was also related to low BRM-NT scores. Logistic regression analyses revealed that sex of infant predicted ACES scores, whereby having a boy predicted high ACES scores.
Summary: In conclusion, this study found that postpartum negative thoughts and negative appraisals are correlated with the amount and satisfaction of support received, and having an infant boy was found to reliably predict a tendency to appraise thoughts negatively.