The Role of Satisfaction with Social Support on the Psychological Health of Primiparous Mothers in the Perinatal Period

The aim of this study was to develop a satisfaction scale for social support and to investigate the relation of satisfaction with social support to the psychological health of primiparous mothers in terms of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and parental self-efficacy. We carried out a quantitative study during the last month of pregnancy (T1) and 6 weeks after birth (T2) including 235 mothers who were expecting their first child in Geneva (Switzerland) from September 2010 to April 2012. The satisfaction scale for social support revealed five sources of support (from the spouse, young woman's mother, family, friends, professionals), each associated with different types of support (i.e., emotional, esteem, material, and informative). This scale showed good internal consistency for each factor. Moreover, the results revealed a relationship between satisfaction with social support and the mental health of mothers, in particular in the postnatal period for depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-efficacy. This study highlights the important role of social support and the scale specifically developed during this period is a useful tool to investigate this aspect.