Self-esteem and mental health during early pregnancy

Objective.

The relationship of self-esteem to other indicators of psychological distress such as anxiety and depression has seldom been explored in relation to antenatal care. However, there is increasing evidence that low self-esteem has a significant negative impact on a variety of health outcomes during pregnancy and following delivery. The current study investigated the predictive ability of self-esteem, assessed by self-report questionnaire, in predicting the psychological status of women early in pregnancy.

Design.

A cross-sectional study design was used with all observations taken on one occasion.

Setting.

Participants were recruited from two hospital antenatal clinics and a community antenatal clinic.

Participants.

A convenience sample of 129 women recruited consecutively from the above settings at 14 weeks gestation.

Main outcome measures.

The adult version of the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory version 2 (CFSEI-2) and self-report measures of anxiety and depression.

Results.

Personal self-esteem was found to be a significant predictor of psychological status in terms of both anxiety and depression.

Conclusions.

It is concluded that self-esteem is an easily assessed, but clinically useful psychological domain that health professionals should consider during their encounters with this clinical group.