PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT, BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTABILITY OF CHINESE POSTPARTUM WOMEN WITH DEPRESSION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF HOPE

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common health problems among postpartum women in the world and is generally defined as an episode of depression that occurs within 12 months after delivery. This study investigated the relationship between hope in perceived social support, basic psychological needs, and psychological adaptability. Participants were 501 postpartum-depressed women from four maternal and child health centers in China. The study collected demographic data from women with postpatrum depression and used Psychological Adaptability Scale (PAS), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS), and Herth Hope Index (HHI) to obtain the values of the variables.The results of the structural equation model showed that hope partially mediated the effect of perceived social support on psychological adaptability, and it also partially mediated the effect of basic psychological needs on psychological adaptability. In addition, the bootstrapping procedure revealed a significant link between perceived social support and basic psychological needs on psychological adaptability through hope. Examination of the competing models reveals that Model 3 is the optimal structural equation model. These results help to investigate the complexity of the relationship between factors and psychological adaptability to inform clinical work and mental health counselling. The study concludes with a discussion of possible explanations and limitations.