Correlates of Canadian mothers' anger during the postpartum period: a cross-sectional survey

Psychological Distress in Childbearing Persons During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Trajectory Study of Anger, Anxiety, and Depression

Psychological distress can manifest as depression, anxiety, and anger in the perinatal period. These conditions are often comorbid yet studied in isolation. A full understanding of perinatal psychopathology requires the spectrum of common psychological distress to be studied concurrently to better understand interconnected symptoms. A transdiagnostic approach provides valuable insights into how symptoms interact and cumulatively affect mental health, which can inform more effective screening and treatment strategies. This, in turn, can improve outcomes for birthing parents experiencing psychological distress. We undertook group-based multi-trajectory modeling (GBMTM) to uncover the patterns of affective disorders (anger, anxiety, and depression) over three-time points (pregnancy, 3-, and 12-months postpartum (mPP)) in a large longitudinal cohort of persons who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 2145). We identified five trajectory groups: high-stable (11.3%), postpartum-increase (16.0%), postpartum-decrease (21.5%), low-stable (37.9%), and minimal stable (13.2%) symptoms of anger, anxiety, and depression. Multinomial regression revealed that lower levels of sleep disturbance, less financial hardship, and lower intolerance of uncertainty predicted postpartum decreases in psychological distress compared with the high stable group. Higher levels of sleep disturbance, greater financial hardship, lower level of social support, and greater intolerance of uncertainty predicted postpartum increases in psychological distress compared with the low-stable and minimal-stable groups. Screening for psychological distress symptoms (i.e., anger, anxiety, and depression), paired with access to evidence-based management for those who screen positive, is warranted during the first postpartum year to reduce the harmful effects of unmanaged distress on families.

Gender-Related Issues Among Women Raising Children: A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing Pre- and Post-pandemic Experiences

Background Despite being embraced worldwide, gender equality in childcare activities has not yet been achieved. Pandemics can negatively affect the health of women engaged in child-rearing. We surveyed women raising children both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of stress and fatigue levels in women through a comparison of surveys conducted before and after the pandemic and to determine the childcare requirements necessary for women to play an active role in society and achieve gender equality. Methods The surveys were conducted in 2017 and 2021. The target population consisted of 150 women with children aged 0-3 years. The survey items included basic attributes, situations in which they felt angry while raising their children, and degree of fatigue. To compare the data before and after the pandemic, a chi-square test, no correspondence t-test, and Wilcoxon's rank sum test were conducted on the survey items for the 2017 and 2021 groups. Results The average age of the mothers before and after the pandemic was 33 years, and most were from nuclear families. They relied on childcare support for more than an hour's drive. The number of women who worked or took childcare leave increased significantly after the pandemic (p=0.025). There were no significant differences in stress or fatigue levels before and after the pandemic. A lower number of women became angry when their children cluttered up the house (p=0.031) or were difficult when it was time to go home (p=0.008) after the pandemic. Conclusions Women's stress and fatigue did not differ during the pandemic, and fewer women became angry about their children after the pandemic. Women raising children had lack of sleep and fatigue accumulation regardless of the pandemic. It is important for couples to discuss maternal fatigue on an ongoing basis, beginning when planning pregnancy. Rapid resolution of the challenges women face in raising children will achieve gender equality.

Efficacy of the "7mind"-app as intervention to prevent postpartum depression in a low-risk sample group

INTRODUCTION

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a severe complication in the postpartum period and equals a major depression occurring in the first weeks after delivery. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased incidence of PPD was observed. For this reason, we conducted an intervention study to test the effectiveness of the "7mind"-app, an app-based mindfulness training program, in the prevention of PPD.

METHODS

For this purpose, 145 women who gave birth between March and September 2021 were observed up to six months postpartum, with 80 women using the "7mind"-app. The BSF (Berlin Mood Questionnaire) and the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) were used to measure depressive symptoms at different time points and were supplemented by questionnaires regarding COVID-related anxieties.

RESULTS

The BSF showed a significant improvement over time in the categories "anxiety" (p < .001) and "fatigue" (p < .001). Regarding the EPDS, there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups. With a mean EPDS of 7.6 prepartum and 7.4 postpartum, our sample group can be classified as a low-risk collective. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between the control and intervention groups with regard to COVID-19-related anxiety. However, a comparison of the correlation analysis of COVID-19-related fears over time showed a clear advantage of the intervention. In particular, fear of the consequences of maternal COVID-19 infection increased significantly in the control group over time (r = 0.98, p = 0.040), while there was no significant change in the intervention group (r = -0.39, p = 0.218).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the intervention with the app "7mind" seems to lead to a clear benefit in the prevention of general anxiety and COVID-19-related anxieties, but needs further research to represent a valid intervention for the prevention of PPD.

Some Slice of Climate Anxiety … Is Good: A Cross-Sectional Survey Exploring the Relationship Between College Students Media Exposure and Perceptions About Climate Change

Climate change anxiety among young people of college age has become a prevalent topic, with debate on whether climate change anxiety is maladaptive or can motivate climate change action. Using a cross-sectional survey of 440 college students, the study investigated the relationships between college students' climate anxiety, climate change media exposure, efficacy beliefs, and pro-environmental intentions. The findings revealed among other things, that climate anxiety had a significant curvilinear relationship with pro-environmental intentions with moderate anxiety predicting positive intentions and higher levels of anxiety were associated with negative intentions. Media exposure also positively predicted increased climate anxiety. Implications for climate change mitigation are discussed.

Effects of psychosocial sleep interventions on improving infant sleep and maternal sleep and mood: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Infant sleep problems are prevalent and have a negative impact on infant growth and development, maternal sleep, and maternal mood. The effects of psychosocial sleep interventions on infant sleep and maternal sleep and mood are unclear. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of psychosocial sleep interventions on improving infant sleep, including nocturnal total sleep time, daytime total sleep, total sleep time, night wakings, and maternal sleep and mood problems (ie, depression and fatigue). We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, EBSCO, OpenGrey, DeepBlue, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases. We focused on randomized controlled trials examining the effectiveness of psychosocial sleep interventions on infant sleep. The study was preregistered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42022301654). Thirteen studies from 5889 articles were included in the review, which found that psychosocial sleep interventions improved infant nocturnal total sleep time (0.28 [0.04-0.52], p < 0.05, I2 = 83.9%) and maternal depression (-0.10 [-0.28 to -0.08], p < 0.05, I2 = 8.7%). To test and explore heterogeneity, we used the I2 statistic, influence analysis, subgroup analyses, and subgroup meta-analyses. Funnel plots and Egger's tests revealed no evidence of publication bias. Psychosocial sleep interventions improved infant nocturnal total sleep time and maternal depression. Future research should include more randomized controlled trials examining the effect of psychosocial sleep interventions on the improvement of maternal sleep and fatigue.

Anger and aggression research: A bibliometric analysis from 2012 to 2022

Anger and aggression are common sources of distress and impairment. There is, however, no available data on anger and aggression based on bibliometric analysis. This study uses bibliometric analysis to analyze research hotspots and trends in anger and aggression. Publications on anger and aggression within the last ten years were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. Using descriptive bibliometrics, journals, countries, institutions, authors, references, and keywords in anger and aggression research were visually analyzed via CiteSpace. A total of 3114 articles were included, and studies on anger and aggression increased yearly. The publications are mainly from 106 countries led by the USA and 381 institutions led by Univ Penn. We identified 505 authors, where Emil F. Coccaro had the highest number of articles, while Buss A.H. was the most frequently co-cited author. AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR is the journal that bore most of the studies, while PLOS ONE was the most cited journal. Our analysis demonstrated that research on anger and aggression is flourishing. Behaviors of anger and aggression, risk factors, neural mechanisms, personality, and adolescence have been researched hotspots in the past ten years. Besides, victimization, drosophila melanogaster, psychopathic traits, and perpetration are emerging anger and aggression research trends.

Seeing Red: A Grounded Theory Study of Women's Anger after Childbirth

Persistent intense anger is indicative of postpartum distress, yet maternal anger has been little explored after childbirth. Using grounded theory, we explained how and why mothers develop intense anger after childbirth and the actions they take to manage their anger. Twenty mothers of healthy singleton infants described their experiences of anger during the first two postpartum years. Mothers indicated they became angry when they had violated expectations, compromised needs, and felt on edge (e.g., exhausted, stressed, and resentful), particularly around infants' sleep. Mothers described suppressing and/or expressing anger with outcomes such as conflict and recruiting support. Receiving support from partners, family, and others helped mothers manage their anger, with more positive outcomes. Women should be screened for intense anger, maternal-infant sleep problems, and adequacy of social supports after childbirth. Maternal anger can be reduced by changing expectations and helping mothers meet their needs through social and structural supports.

Trajectories and Correlates of Anger During the Perinatal Period

OBJECTIVES

To investigate trajectories of anger during pregnancy and the early postpartum period; to identify baseline psychosocial predictors of anger trajectory group membership; and to examine correlates of anger trajectory group membership, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social support, in the postpartum period.

DESIGN

Longitudinal descriptive design.

SETTING

We recruited participants from a maternity clinic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

The sample included a convenience sample of 143 pregnant women who had basic fluency in English, were older than 17 years of age, and were less than 19 weeks gestation with a single fetus at the time of recruitment.

METHODS

Participants completed online questionnaires at four time points: early, mid-, and late pregnancy and 2 months after birth. We used group-based semiparametric mixture modeling to estimate patterns of anger. We used multinomial logistic regression to explore associations between baseline predictors and trajectory membership.

RESULTS

We identified four distinct trajectories of anger during pregnancy through 2 months after birth: minimal-stable anger (52.4%), mild-stable anger (27.5%), moderate-stable anger (12.7%), and high-decreasing anger (7.4%). Membership in the moderate-stable group was associated with greater baseline symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia severity scores compared to the minimal-stable anger group. Moderate-stable trajectory group membership was also associated with greater symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia at 2 months after birth.

CONCLUSION

Higher levels of anger were associated with worse mental health in pregnancy and after childbirth in our participants. Women should be made aware of anger as a possible mood disturbance by clinicians, and researchers should investigate the consequences of anger during the perinatal period.