title: Pregnancy-specific distress: the role of maternal sense of coherence and antenatal mothering orientations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal mental health during pregnancy has been identified as a key factor in the future physiological, emotional and social development of both the mother and her baby. Yet little is known about the factors that contribute to increased levels of pregnancy-specific distress. The present study investigated the role of two psychosocial and personality-based constructs, namely women's sense of coherence (SoC) and their mothering orientations, on their pregnancy-specific distress.
  
  
  METHODS
  During their second trimester of pregnancy, 293 Australian and New Zealand women participated in an online study. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to determine the unique contribution of women's SoC (Sense of Coherence Scale, SoC 13) and their antenatal mothering orientation (Antenatal Mothering Orientation Measure-Revised, AMOM-R) to pregnancy-specific distress (Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, NuPDQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low SoC was the best determinant of women's pregnancy-specific distress, accounting for over 45% of the variance (β = -0.33, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.43, -0.23]). A Regulator mothering orientation was correlated with distress but did not have a unique contribution in the final model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study further highlights the importance of better understanding women's perceptions of emotional health and their mothering role while taking into consideration their wider social context.
authors.affiliation: a The School of Psychology, The University of Queensland , Australia.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Staneva
authors.affiliation: a The School of Psychology, The University of Queensland , Australia.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morawska
authors.affiliation: b The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Australia , and.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bogossian
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology , University of Manchester , Manchester , UK.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wittkowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Distress; maternal orientation; pregnancy; sense of coherence