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Department of Health Psychology, Islamic Azad University Karaj Branch, Karaj, Iran , sh.sodagar@iau.ac.ir
Abstract: (210 Views)
Background: Childhood trauma can have a profound impact on the mental health of pregnant women and lead to increased pregnancy anxiety; therefore, identifying factors that reduce this relationship is of great importance. Childbirth self-efficacy and perceived social support have been proposed as mediating variables that may modulate the effect of childhood trauma on pregnancy anxiety. Examining these variables not only helps to better understand the psychological processes related to pregnancy but also provides effective intervention strategies to reduce maternal anxiety.
Aims: The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of childbirth self-efficacy and perceived social support in the relationship between childhood trauma and pregnancy anxiety.
Methods: The present research was correlational using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all pregnant women visiting counseling centers (7 centers) in District 5 of Karaj during 1403–1404, with a sample size of 200 pregnant women selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used in this study included the Vandenberg Pregnancy Anxiety Questionnaire (1990), the Lowe Childbirth Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (1993), the Cobb Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (1986), and the Bernstein et al. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (2003). The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (maximum likelihood estimation method) with AMOS software, version 26.
Results: The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the research variables (significance level 0.05), and the two mediating variables, perceived social support (β= −0.282, p= 0.001) and childbirth self-efficacy (β= 0.252, p= 0.001), positively and significantly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and pregnancy anxiety.
Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that perceived social support and childbirth self-efficacy play an important role in the relationship between childhood trauma and pregnancy anxiety, and psychologists in this field as well as health centers can benefit from the results of this study in designing their interventions.
Aims: The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of childbirth self-efficacy and perceived social support in the relationship between childhood trauma and pregnancy anxiety.
Methods: The present research was correlational using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all pregnant women visiting counseling centers (7 centers) in District 5 of Karaj during 1403–1404, with a sample size of 200 pregnant women selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used in this study included the Vandenberg Pregnancy Anxiety Questionnaire (1990), the Lowe Childbirth Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (1993), the Cobb Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (1986), and the Bernstein et al. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (2003). The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (maximum likelihood estimation method) with AMOS software, version 26.
Results: The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the research variables (significance level 0.05), and the two mediating variables, perceived social support (β= −0.282, p= 0.001) and childbirth self-efficacy (β= 0.252, p= 0.001), positively and significantly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and pregnancy anxiety.
Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that perceived social support and childbirth self-efficacy play an important role in the relationship between childhood trauma and pregnancy anxiety, and psychologists in this field as well as health centers can benefit from the results of this study in designing their interventions.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/08/13 | Accepted: 2025/10/17 | Published: 2026/03/21
Received: 2025/08/13 | Accepted: 2025/10/17 | Published: 2026/03/21
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)