ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2023
The direct and mediating effect of social support on health-related quality of life during pregnancy among Australian women.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Swedish massage as an adjunct approach to Help suppOrt individuals Pregnant after Experiencing a prior Stillbirth (HOPES): feasibility and acceptability findings from a convergent parallel mixed-methods single-arm trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- A Single Session of Beach Tennis with Recreational Athletes Improves Anxiety Symptoms in Women but Not in Men: A Randomized Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Trial
- Network analysis of symptoms related to quality of life and subjective well-being during pregnancy.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Women's perceived partner support during the perinatal and early childhood period: changes over time for women with and without Major Depressive Disorder.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the quality of life in pregnancy scale (PREG-QOL): a translation and validation study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- The Mediating Role of Social Support Between Pregnancy Anxiety and Emotional Suppression in Women with Threatened Preterm Labor.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Evaluating and predicting exclusive breastfeeding behaviour based on an energy vitality model during women's lactation: a longitudinal study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Social capital and oral health-related quality of life in pregnant women using public health services.Brazilian oral research · 2025Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPrenatal stress can have a negative effect on the quality of life (QoL) of pregnant women. Social support plays a vital role in improving the psychological well-being of pregnant women by enhancing their stress-coping ability. The current study assessed the association between social support and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as well as the mediating role of social support in the linkage between perceived stress and HRQoL among pregnant Australian women.
methodsSecondary data was obtained from 493 women who reported being pregnant in survey six of the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). Social support and perceived stress were assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Index (MOS-SSS-19) and the Perceived Stress Scale, respectively. The Mental Component Scale (MCS) and Physical Component Scale (PCS) of the SF-36 were used to examine the mental and physical HRQoL. A mediation model was used to examine the mediating effect of social support in the relationship between perceived stress and HRQoL. A multivariate quantile regression (QR) model was used to assess the association between social support and HRQoL after adjusting for potential confounders.
resultThe mean age of the pregnant women was 35.8 years. The mediational analysis revealed that emotional/informational support (β= -1.53; 95% CI: -2.36, -0.78), tangible support (β= -0.64; 95% CI: -1.29, -0.09), and affectionate support/positive social interaction (β= -1.33; 95% CI: -2.25, -0.48), played a significant mediating role in the relationship between perceived stress and mental health-related QoL. In addition, perceived stress had a significant indirect effect on mental health-related QoL through overall social support (β = -1.38; 95% CI: -2.28, -0.56), and the mediator accounted for approximately 14.3% of the total effect. The multivariate QR analysis indicated that all the domains of social support and overall social support scores were positively associated with higher MCS scores (p < 0.05). However, social support was found to have no significant association with PCS (p > 0.05).
conclusionSocial support plays a direct and mediating role in improving the HRQoL of pregnant Australian women. Maternal health professionals need to consider social support as an essential tool to improve the HRQoL of pregnant women. Further, as part of routine antenatal care activity, assessing pregnant women's level of social support is beneficial.
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