Posttraumatic stress symptoms and postpartum anxiety among palestinian women: the mediating roles of self-esteem and social support

Abstract

Background: Women are estimated to develop several mental disorders during pregnancy and/or for up to a year postpartum, with anxiety and depression being the most common co-morbidities. Postpartum anxiety is less well studied compared with postpartum depression in the Palestinian context in terms of risk factors, mental health outcomes and protective factors. Purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether self-esteem and social support mediated the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and postpartum anxiety among Palestinian women. Methods: Berlin Social Support Scales, Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale, Impact of the Event Scale, and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were administered to 408 Palestinian women recruited from health centers in northern of the West Banks/ Palestine using a convenience sample. Results: The findings of our study revealed that postpartum anxiety positively correlated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (r =.56, p