Article Title: Social Support and Postnatal Depression in Pakistani Context
Author(s): Sidra Afzal & Ruhi Khalid
Institute(s): Institute of Psychology, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2014, Vol. 12, No.1, 34-38
Correspondence Address: Sidra Afzal, Institute of Psychology, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore and Ruhi Khalid, PhD, Professor and Director Beaconhouse National University, Lahore. Email: Sidra.afzal@umt.edu.pk, rkhalid@bnu.edu.pk
Abstract
Social support has been identified as a predictive as well as protective factor for depression in postnatal period by several researchers in the West. The present study attempts to examine and investigate the relationship between the social support and postnatal depression (PND) in a sample of Pakistani mothers using the indigenous measures. One hundred and thirty nine mothers diagnosed for PND were contacted in the hospitals and clinics of Lahore using the purposive sampling technique. These mothers were screened for the prior history of depression and only those having no reported history of depression were included in the sample (N= 106). They were further screened for postnatal depression using indigenously developed Postnatal Depression Screening Scale (PNDSS). The indigenously developed Social Support Demographic Performa that measures Instrumental, Emotional and Informational support was also administered. The findings revealed that there is a significant negative correlation between PND and Social Support among Pakistani mothers.
Keywords: Postnatal Depression, Instrumental support, Emotional support, Informational support.
