Postpartum exuberance: Not all women in a highly positive emotional state in the postpartum period are denying depression and distress
✍ Scribed by Edward Z. Tronick; Marjorie Beeghly; M. Katherine Weinberg; Karen L. Olson
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 141 KB
- Volume
- 18
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0163-9641
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The question addressed in this study was whether or not mothers who scored low on self-report depression scales -so-called "deniers" -were denying their symptoms and suffering from an illusion of mental health. The findings did not support the interpretation that low-scoring mothers were denying other symptoms. Rather, low-scoring mothers: 1) experienced a wide range of emotions and similar levels of positive emotions compared to mid-symptom mothers; 2) changed their reported levels of depressive symptoms over the course of the study; 3) reported a variety of symptoms at levels similar to those of mothers in the mid symptom range; and 4) were affected negatively by having a diagnosis of depression, in a manner similar to mothers in the mid and high symptom groups. Furthermore, low symptom mothers consistently reported the most positive profiles of maternal adaptation with higher levels of maternal self-esteem and a high ratio of self-reported positive to negative affect. Thus, they appeared to be experiencing a heretofore underdescribed highly positive normal postpartum state that we have labeled "postpartum exuberance." Postpartum exuberance, as well as a compromise of affective functioning associated with any lifetime diagnosis of depression regardless of the mothers'current level of depressive symptoms, highlights the complexity of emotional reactivity during the postpartum period. RESUMEN: El punto que se discute en este estudio es si las madres que autoreportaron puntajes en las escalas de depresión -llamadas "deniers" -negaban los síntomas y el hecho de que padecían de falsas percepciones de salud mental. Los resultados del estudio no apoyaron la interpretación de que tales madres negaban otros síntomas. Por el contrario, esas madres 1) experimetaron una variada gama de emociones y similares niveles de emociones positivas comparadas con las llamadas mid-symptom (grupo del medio) madres; 2) cambiaron los niveles de síntomas depresivos reportados a lo largo del estudio; 3) reportaron una variedad de síntomas a niveles similares a aquellas madres en el grupo llamado mid-symptom; y 4) fueron afectadas negativamente por el hecho de tener una diagnosis de depresión, en una manera similar a las madres en el grupo del medio y aquellas clasificadas en el grupo más alto. Es más, las madres del grupo bajo consistentemente reportaron el bosquejo más positivo de adaptación maternal con altos niveles de autoestima y un promedio alto de afecto positivo a negativo autoreportado. Por lo tanto, ellas parecían estar experimentando un muy alto estado positivo normal posterior al parto no descrito hasta ahora, al cual denominamos "exhuberancia posterior al parto."
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