The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Body Image and Severity of Anxiety and Depression in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Pregnancy and being a mother have been taken into account as enjoyable and evolutionary events in the women's life, however, due to Physiological and Psychological changes; it can be associated with Anxiety and Depression. This study aimed to investigate the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Body Image and the Severity of Anxiety and Depression in Pregnant Women. The research method was Non-Experimental and Correlational. The research population consisted of all pregnant women who were in their third trimester of pregnancy and referred to the health centres of Tehran hospital for pregnancy care. A sample of 140 pregnant women was selected using convenience sampling from three Hospitals of Quds, Hedayat, and Alghadir. To collect data, the Neff Self-Compassion scale (2003), Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (1990), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (1987), and Body Image in Pregnancy Scale (2017) were used. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Hayes PROCESS procedure extension in the Regression analysis were used to analysing the data. The results of Pearson's correlation showed that Body image had a significant positive correlation with the severity of Anxiety and Depression and self-compassion had a significant negative correlation with body image, anxiety, and depression (P<0.01). The results of Multiple Linear Regression confirmed the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between body image and the severity of anxiety and depression in pregnant women (R2=0/33, P<0.01). According to the finding, it's recommended to pay serious attention to increasing self-compassion and reducing body image dissatisfaction in health care planning to improve the mental health of pregnant women..‌Anxiety, Body Image, Depression, Pregnancy, Self-Compassion.‌‌IntroductionPregnancy due to physiological and psychological changes may put women at risk of psychological distress. research has shown, anxiety and depression are the most important and common disorders during pregnancy. 1 in 10 mothers experiences anxiety and depression during pregnancy and postpartum, and if they are not identified and treated during pregnancy, they can have adverse consequences for the mother and her child. Therefore, it is important to investigate the risk and protective factors of these disorders. researchers have reported a significant positive relationship between body image dissatisfaction and anxiety and depression, but a review of the research suggests that the relationship between them may not be linear and that self-compassion plays a mediating role between them. According to Research evidence, self-compassion has a significant negative relation with anxiety and depression and can help reduce emotional distress such as anxiety and depression and also act as a protective factor against negative body image. According to the mentioned research findings and the fact that a study in Iran has not investigated the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between body image and the severity of anxiety and depression in pregnant women; The question of the present study is whether self-compassion plays a mediating role in the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and the severity of anxiety and depression in pregnant women?. MethodologyThe research method was non-experimental and correlational. The research population consisted of all pregnant women who were in their third trimester of pregnancy and referred to the health centre of Tehran hospital for pregnancy care. A sample of 140 pregnant women was selected using convenience sampling from three hospitals of Quds, Hedayat, and AL-Ghadir. To collect data, the Neff self-compassion scale (SCS), Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS), Pregnancy related anxiety questionnaire (PRAQ-17), and Body image in pregnancy scale (BIPS) were used. Data were analyzed by Pearson’s Correlation coefficient and Hayes Regression. FindingsThe finding of the research showed there was a significant positive relationship between body image dissatisfaction and severity of anxiety (r=0/43) and depression (r=0/44), further it was indicated that self-compassion had a significant negative correlation with the severity of anxiety (r=-0/55) and depression (r=-0/56). Additionally, Hayes regression showed that self-compassion played a mediating role in the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms in pregnant women (R2= 0/33). ResultAccording to the cognitive view, if a person has a negative attitude towards her body, she experiences dissatisfaction with her body image. This body image dissatisfaction leads to the activation of negative automatic thoughts and basic assumptions that cause anxiety and depression. as these disorders progress, negative automatic thoughts about body image increase and this process leads to increased anxiety and depression. However, not all pregnant women with body image dissatisfaction experience anxiety and depression, so factors may affect the consequences of body image, one of which is self-compassion. Self-compassion entails being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical; perceiving one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as isolating, and holding painful thoughts as feeling in mindful awareness rather than over-identifying with them. Therefore, it can be said that pregnant women with body image dissatisfaction who have high self-compassion have a higher resilience when faced with stressful situations caused by body image dissatisfaction, experience fewer negative emotions, and can manage their negative emotions. As a result, the ground for creating psychological well-being and preventing the symptoms of anxiety and depression is provided in them, and the cycle of negative automatic thoughts and the experience of anxiety and depression do not occur. Hence self-compassion can be considered as a strategy for regulating emotion during pregnancy, which creates the background of mental health in the person.‌‌

Keywords

• anxiety
• body image
• depression
• pregnancy
• self-compassion