Emotion regulation strategies and perceived stress during pregnancy in expectant mothers and fathers
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Stress during pregnancy can increase physical and mental health risks in parents and offspring. Emotion regulation (ER) may protect against prenatal stress; however, ER is understudied in expectant parents, particularly expectant fathers. This study aimed to evaluate associations between ER strategies (reappraisal, suppression, ratio of suppression-to-reappraisal) and perceived stress among expectant parents, and also test whether expectant mothers and fathers differed in ER strategy use and perceived stress levels. METHODS: = 83 expectant parents (62.7% mothers) in the third trimester completed measures assessing perceived stress,reappraisal, and suppression. ANCOVA, hierarchical regression, and multilevel models were used to evaluate associations between ER strategies and perceived stress, and test for sex differences. RESULTS: Controlling for age and education, lower reappraisal and higher suppression were associated with higher perceived stress; in addition, higher suppression-to-reappraisal ratios were associated with greater perceived stress. Mothers and fathers did not differ in perceived stress, reappraisal, or suppression; however, suppression-to-reappraisal ratios significantly differed. CONCLUSION: Increasing ER skills such as reappraisal while reducing suppression may be beneficial for decreasing stress in expectant parents. Expectant fathers report similar levels of perceived stress to mothers and would benefit from prenatal mental health screening and intervention.
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The pregnancy-postpartum transition is a major life event during which mothers and fathers may rely more heavily on emotion regulation resources to manage increased levels of stress associated with this transition.
“the pregnancy-postpartum transition is a major life event during which mothers and fathers may rely more heavily on emotion regulation resources to manage increased levels of stress associated with this transition [61].”
From Trajectories of Maternal and Paternal Internalizing Symptoms from Pregnancy to 2 Years Postpartum: Identifying Modifiable Risk and Protective Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [61]
The Abstract describes pregnancy as a time of significant change that can bring increased stress, and the Discussion says emotion-regulation strategies may help expectant parents manage prenatal stress. The study concerns pregnancy, however; it does not establish that mothers and fathers rely more heavily on those resources across the pregnancy-to-postpartum transition. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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- Authors
- Penner, F., Bunderson, M., Bartz, C., Brooker, R. J., & Rutherford, H. J.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- American University (US)
- Texas A&M University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Penner, Francesca
- Venue
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-08-10
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 410-423
- ISSN
- 0264-6838 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-672X
- PMC
- PMC9911557
- OpenAlex
- W4290993202
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 2.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- BIAL Foundation (NIDA R01 DA050636)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- emotion regulation, perceived stress, pregnancy, expectant fathers, pregnant women, cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, sex differences, prenatal mental health, third trimester
- MeSH terms
- Emotional Regulation, Adult, Fathers, Female, Humans, Male, Mothers, Pregnancy, Stress, Psychological, Young Adult
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