CLINICAL RESEARCH
Postpartum Depression and Social Support in Adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1177/0884217504272802Get rights and content

Objective:

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of a social support intervention delivered to pregnant adolescent girls between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation in preventing symptoms of depression at 6 weeks postpartum.

Design:

The study used a repeated measures design.

Setting:

Data were collected at a teenage parenting program, an educational option of the public school system.

Participants:

Participants (n = 128) were pregnant and postpartum adolescents.

Main Outcome Measure:

Symptoms of depression at 6 weeks postpartum.

Intervention:

Participants completed the Postpartum Support Questionnaire, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem instrument, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression instrument at baseline, then were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups (pamphlet, video, or pamphlet plus video) or the control group. The content of the intervention was based on a synthesis of the literature describing social support needed and desired by postpartum adolescents.

Results:

No significant differences were found in Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression instrument scores among the groups at 6 weeks postpartum. Using path analysis, the authors found that predictors of symptoms of depression at 6 weeks postpartum were (a) receiving more support from friends, family, and others and (b) having low selfesteem.

Conclusion:

These findings differ from earlier studies, and both research and clinical implications are discussed.

Section snippets

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a social support intervention on the incidence of postpartum depression among adolescents who attend a teenage parent program.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis of the study predicts that the lowest rates of postpartum depression will be found among adolescents receiving both a written and videotaped social support intervention.

Method

A repeated measures design was used. Participants were students who attended an alternative public school for pregnant and parenting adolescents. The school serves approximately 700 students per year, with services including transportation, child care, health services (well child, family planning, prenatal care, and limited care for episodic illness), and minimal individual counseling by licensed clinical social workers.

Discussion

A social support intervention (pamphlet plus video) provided during late pregnancy to adolescents did not decrease their symptoms of depression at 6 weeks postpartum. The research hypothesis was not supported. These findings indicate that an isolated intervention in pregnancy to strengthen social support is not sufficient to prevent symptoms of postpartum depression.

The findings of this study are similar to those of other intervention studies for postpartum women that have failed to demonstrate

Acknowledgments

Funded by a joint research grant from the Midwest Nursing Research Society and Glaxo Wellcome Pharmaceutical Company and by a Research on Women Grant from the University of Louisville.

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