Abstract
Self-compassion is associated with depression and anxiety in general samples. Although recent research indicates that dysfunctional maternal attitudes predict the development of perinatal depression and anxiety symptoms, no research to date has examined the construct of self-compassion and its relationship with psychological well-being in perinatal women. Pregnant and postpartum women (N = 189) completed self-report measures of depression and anxiety history, current depression and anxiety symptom severity, and self-compassion. Women with higher depression and anxiety symptom severity had significantly lower self-compassion. Additionally, women with self-reported prior history of depression or anxiety had significantly lower self-compassion even while controlling for current depression or anxiety symptom severity, respectively. Our results suggest that self-compassion warrants further attention in the study of the development, maintenance, and treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
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Acknowledgments
We acknowledge funding by a University of Colorado Boulder Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant (PI: Felder). We would also like to acknowledge the important work of clinic staff including Gina Wolf, as well as study team members including Alison Conner and Chelsea Neely-Holt.
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Felder, J.N., Lemon, E., Shea, K. et al. Role of self-compassion in psychological well-being among perinatal women. Arch Womens Ment Health 19, 687–690 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0628-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0628-2