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The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women
Perinatal Depression (PND) is a global public health issue affecting many women as they transition to motherhood, and carrying detrimental consequences for both mothers and infants. Research in low and middle-income countries shows higher PND prevalence rates than in high-income and Western countrie...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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AUC Knowledge Fountain
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613424242917376 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Abdelshafi, Radwa Raafat |
| author_browse | Abdelshafi, Radwa Raafat |
| author_facet | Abdelshafi, Radwa Raafat |
| author_sort | Abdelshafi, Radwa Raafat |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Perinatal Depression (PND) is a global public health issue affecting many women as they transition to motherhood, and carrying detrimental consequences for both mothers and infants. Research in low and middle-income countries shows higher PND prevalence rates than in high-income and Western countries. In addition, social support has been shown to strongly protect or reduce the impact of PND. This study aimed to address a gap in research on PND in Egypt, and to build an understanding of the social support ecological system of new mothers. A survey was conducted with 81 first-time middle-class mothers living in Greater Cairo between 1 and 12 months postpartum. It was found that 70.4% of mothers exceeded the EPDS cut-off score of 13, signaling a high rate of PND symptoms. A strong, significant correlation was detected between PND symptoms prevalence and functional social support. Furthermore, functional social support moderated the association between PND scores and mothers’ weekly outings, stressful life events, and having hired help in the household. Availability of informational, instrumental, emotional, and appraisal support was provided through mothers’ informal and formal support networks. Participants’ husbands and mothers provided the most support in the informal network across all support types, while pediatricians presented the most informational support within the formal network of support. Several postpartum challenges were reported, with breastfeeding the most common. Many participants had unrealistic expectations about motherhood, and most expected motherhood to be rather easy. These findings indicate the importance of raising public awareness of perinatal depression and the challenges of motherhood. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3443 |
| institution | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:35:55.364Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| publisherStr | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| spelling | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3443 The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women Abdelshafi, Radwa Raafat Perinatal Depression (PND) is a global public health issue affecting many women as they transition to motherhood, and carrying detrimental consequences for both mothers and infants. Research in low and middle-income countries shows higher PND prevalence rates than in high-income and Western countries. In addition, social support has been shown to strongly protect or reduce the impact of PND. This study aimed to address a gap in research on PND in Egypt, and to build an understanding of the social support ecological system of new mothers. A survey was conducted with 81 first-time middle-class mothers living in Greater Cairo between 1 and 12 months postpartum. It was found that 70.4% of mothers exceeded the EPDS cut-off score of 13, signaling a high rate of PND symptoms. A strong, significant correlation was detected between PND symptoms prevalence and functional social support. Furthermore, functional social support moderated the association between PND scores and mothers’ weekly outings, stressful life events, and having hired help in the household. Availability of informational, instrumental, emotional, and appraisal support was provided through mothers’ informal and formal support networks. Participants’ husbands and mothers provided the most support in the informal network across all support types, while pediatricians presented the most informational support within the formal network of support. Several postpartum challenges were reported, with breastfeeding the most common. Many participants had unrealistic expectations about motherhood, and most expected motherhood to be rather easy. These findings indicate the importance of raising public awareness of perinatal depression and the challenges of motherhood. 2025-01-31T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2398 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3443/viewcontent/radwa_raafat_abdelshafi_thesis.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain perinatal depression postpartum depression social support postpartum perinatal mental health women Egypt mothers first-time mothers community psychology Community Health Community Psychology Maternal and Child Health Mental Disorders Social Work Women's Studies |
| spellingShingle | perinatal depression postpartum depression social support postpartum perinatal mental health women Egypt mothers first-time mothers community psychology Community Health Community Psychology Maternal and Child Health Mental Disorders Social Work Women's Studies Abdelshafi, Radwa Raafat The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women |
| title | The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women |
| title_full | The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women |
| title_short | The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women |
| title_sort | role of social support in protecting against perinatal depression among egyptian women |
| topic | perinatal depression postpartum depression social support postpartum perinatal mental health women Egypt mothers first-time mothers community psychology Community Health Community Psychology Maternal and Child Health Mental Disorders Social Work Women's Studies |
| url | https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2398 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3443/viewcontent/radwa_raafat_abdelshafi_thesis.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdelshafiradwaraafat theroleofsocialsupportinprotectingagainstperinataldepressionamongegyptianwomen AT abdelshafiradwaraafat roleofsocialsupportinprotectingagainstperinataldepressionamongegyptianwomen |