Social Support Is Protective Against the Effects of Discrimination on Parental Mental Health Outcomes.
Dallis Alvarez, Harry Adynski, Rebeca Harris and 3 others
PMID 38600825WHAT IT FOUND
Perinatal parents' discrimination scores were not linked to each other's stress or depression.
Each parent's own discrimination was associated with more stress and depression; emotional support was the strongest social support factor linked to lower symptoms.
Key findings
01Mothers' own discrimination was associated with higher maternal stress and depressive symptoms.
02Fathers' own discrimination was associated with higher paternal stress and depressive symptoms.
03Emotional support was the strongest social support factor in the association between discrimination and stress or depressive symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that discrimination causes stress or depression, or that social support reduces symptoms. Data were collected between 2008 and 2010, so they may not reflect current discrimination experiences. Measures were self-report questionnaires, and no clinical intervention was tested. Fathers were fewer than mothers and were recruited only after mothers gave permission, which may limit generalizability to all fathers. The sample was purposively oversampled for low-income women or preterm birth, so it may not represent all parents.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding came from the National Institute for Nursing Research and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing emotional support will lower parental stress or depression. This is a cross-sectional survey study, so the reported social support findings are associations among measured variables, not proof of a treatment effect.