Resilience mediates the relationship between social support and anxiety in postpartum mothers

Abstract

Objective: Social support and resilience have been established as key factors in managing symptoms of postpartum anxiety. Understanding the influence of resilience on the relationship between social support and anxiety during the postpartum period can help to improve support for anxious postpartum mothers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of resilience in explaining the relationship between increased social support and reduced anxiety symptoms in postpartum mothers. Method: This study employed a cross-sectional analysis of questionnaire data from 262 Australian mothers aged 20 to 43 (M = 29.2, SD = 4.4) on resilience, social support and anxiety. Results: Findings indicated that greater social support was associated with increased resilience (r =.26) and reduced anxiety (r = −.43), whilst resilience and anxiety were negatively correlated (r = −.31). When controlling for mothers age, the indirect effect of social support on anxiety via resilience was significant (β = −0.26), indicating that resilience partially mediated the relationship between increased social support and reduced postpartum anxiety. Conclusions: The finding that resilience partially explains the relationship between social support and anxiety suggests that the relationship between these variables is more complex than purported in the Parental Resilience Model, warranting further investigation.