Social Support Moderates the Association between Mental Health Symptoms and Child Maltreatment Risk Differently In Expectant Mothers Versus Fathers.

Background and Purpose: Research consistently confirms that mental health symptoms associated with depression and PTSD are significant risk factors for child maltreatment (CM) among mothers. However, far less research has examined the impact of fathers’ mental health symptoms on CM risk, or factors that moderate the impact of mental health symptoms on CM risk for fathers and mothers. Framed by the stress-buffering hypothesis, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of social support in moderating the effects of mental health symptoms on CM risk among fathers and mothers during the third trimester prenatal period. Research questions guiding this study were: 1. Do mental health symptoms, associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, impact CM risk differently for expectant mothers versus fathers?; and 2. Does the amount and type of social support (significant other, family, friend, or total support) moderate the association between mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, PTSD) and CM risk differently for mothers versus fathers?

Methods: Data were collected from 51 low income urban-dwelling expectant mothers and 51 expectant fathers in one midwestern city. Parents were interviewed during the third trimester of pregnancy. Validated measures included the Brief Child Abuse Potential Scale (BCAP), the Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale, the Trauma Symptom Checklist, and the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory. Using OLS linear regression and Bootstrapping in PROCESS macro for SPSS, we examined the association between prenatal depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms and expectant parents’ CM risk, and the role of type and amount of social support in moderating that association.

Results: Prenatal depression was significantly associated with both mothers’ (β=.48, p<.001) and fathers’ (β=.42, p=.02) CM risk. Greater anxiety was positively associated with CM risk for both mothers (β=.31, p=.02) and fathers (β=.52, p<.001). Greater PTSD symptoms were also associated with greater CM risk for mothers (β=.50, p<.001), and for fathers (β=.39, p=.01). Social support moderated the impact of mental health symptoms on CM risk differently for expectant mothers versus fathers. Social support from significant others was most important for mothers in buffering the impact of depression on CM risk (t=-2.36, p=.02), while family support buffered the impact of PTSD symptoms (t=-2.04, p=.04). Among fathers, support from significant others was not significant. However, support from family moderated the association between anxiety and CM risk (t=-3.22, p=.003), and support from friends moderated the association between depression and CM risk (t=-2.19, p=.03). Social support did not moderate associations between PTSD symptoms and CM risk for fathers.

Conclusion: Data suggest that mental health symptoms impact CM risk differently and that specific types of social support moderate that relationship differently for fathers versus mothers. Social workers regularly screen for depression among expectant mothers. However, assessing depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms among both expectant mothers and fathers may be essential in assessing CM risk. Additionally, interventions that enhance specific types of social support may buffer these risks. Future research should examine the efficacy of interpersonal interventions in buffering the impact of mental health symptoms on parenting for both mothers and fathers.