PERSONALITY, FAMILY CONFLICT AND AGE IN MARRIAGE AS PREDICTORS OF POSTPARTUM DISTRESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page                                                                                                                        i

Certification                                                                                             ii

Dedication                                                                               iii

Acknowledgments                                                                               iv

Abstract                                                                                                                          v

Table of contents                                                                                    vi

List of tables                                                                                            vii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION                                                                       

Introduction                                                                                              1

Statement of the problem                                                                            17

Purpose of the study                                                                                     17

Operational definition of terms                                                                       18

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Theoretical Review                                                                                          20

Empirical Review                                                                              34

Summary of literature Review                                                                  42

Hypotheses                                                                            44

CHAPTER THREE: METHOD

Participants                                                                                         45

Instruments                                                                           45

Procedure                                                                                            51

Design/Statistics                                                                                          51

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS                                                                                   52

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION                                                                              65

Implication of the findings                                                            68

Limitation of the study                                                                           70

Recommendations                                                                        70

Summary and conclusion                                                                   71

REFERENCES                                                                                            72

APPENDIXES

LIST OF TABLES

Table1: Regression model summary showing Extraversion, Aggreeableness, Consciousness, Neuroticism, Openness, Family conflict and Age in Marriage as    predictors on somatization, Obsessive-Compulsion, Hostility and Phobic Anxiety.

Table2: Multiple regression Beta coefficient showing significant predictors of    Extraversion, Aggreeableness, Consciousness, Neuroticism, Openness, Family       conflict and Age in Marriage on somatization.

Table 3:Correlations matrix of extraversion, agreeableness, consciousness,           neuroticism, openness, family conflict, age in marriage and somatization.

Table 4: Multiple regression Beta coefficient showing significant predictors of     Extraversion, Aggreeableness, Consciousness, Neuroticism, Openness, Family       conflict and Age in Marriage on obsessive-compulsion.

Table 5:Correlations matrix of extraversion, agreeableness, consciousness,           neuroticism, openness, family conflict, age in marriage and obsessive-compulsion.

Table 6: Multiple regression Beta coefficient showing significant predictors of     Extraversion, Aggreeableness, Consciousness, Neuroticism, Openness, Family       conflict and Age in Marriage on Hostility.

Table 7:  Correlations matrix of extraversion, agreeableness, consciousness, neuroticism,   openness, family conflict, age in marriage and hostility.

Table 8: Multiple regression Beta coefficient showing significant predictors of     Extraversion, Aggreeableness, Consciousness, Neuroticism, Openness, Family       conflict and Age in Marriage on Phobic anxiety.

Table 9:  Correlations matrix of extraversion, agreeableness, consciousness, neuroticism,          openness, family conflict, age in marriage and phobic anxiety.

ABSTRACT

The study investigated personality, family conflict and age in marriage as predictors of postpartum distress. Two hundred and seven (207) women in their postpartum period participated in the study and were purposefully drawn from Federal Medical Center and Specialist Hospital Lokoja. Three hypotheses were tested: Personality will not significantly related to  postpartum distress. Family conflict will not significantly related to postpartum distress. Age in marriage will not significantly related to postpartum distress. Three instruments: Big five personality inventory, Symptoms distress checklist (SCL90) and Family Environment Scale were used for data collection. Linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed a significant relationship between family conflict and somatization (β= .20, t= 2.98, P < .005) and age in marriage (β= .16, t= 2.44, P < .05). The result also shows significant relationship between family conflict and obsessive compulsion (β = .20, t= 2.90, P <.005) and age in marriage (β= .13, t= 2.03, P < .05). The result also indicates a significant relationship between extraversion and hostility (β= .18, t= 2.62, P < .05), Agreeableness and hostility (β= .23, t= 2.31, P < .05), Openness and hostility (β= .26, t= 3.37, P < .005) and family conflict and hostility (β= .24, t= 3.68, P < .005). It also showed a significant relationship between family conflict and phobic anxiety    (β = .33, t=5.04, P <.001) and age in marriage and phobic anxiety (β= .23, t= 3.53, P < .005). The implication and limitations were discussed and suggestions were made for further study.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The birth of a child in several cultures is heralded with happiness; and feasts are held to celebrate it. The period that follows child birth is termed postpartum period. It is however a period that is known to be associated with events that can cause both physiological and psychological changes in the life of the woman. It could be regarded as a significant life event. Prominent risks to life have been associated with pregnancy, child birth and postpartum. Life threatening events in pregnancy include hemorrhage, infections, unsafe abortion, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and minor symptoms ranging from vomiting, nausea and marked hypertension (MacArthur, 1991; MacArthur, Lewis & Knox, 1991; Thorpe, Greenwood & Goodenough, 1995). Other changes occur in biological secretions, immune systems and responses. Psychological symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, and loss of socio-economic status, depression, eating disorders and pains (Fisher, CabraldeMello & Izutsu, 2003). These may be a source of distress to the mother during postpartum. A collection of symptoms that affects psychological or mental health of women after child birth is termed postpartum distress including postpartum blues, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. The term postpartum and postnatal can be used interchangeably.

In most parts of the world, attention is being given to the processes of alleviating or treatment of physical or biological factors towards preventing maternal and infant mortality and/or morbidity. As pregnancy, child birth and postpartum stages get safer, with subsequent reduction in infant and maternal death from septic and infectious procedures made possible by advanced methods in medicine. Much less attention has been given to mental health as a contributing factor to maternal and infant wellbeing (Affonsso & Mayberry, 1990). Violence is seen as contributing factor in maternal mortality (Frausetchi, Ceralli, & Maine, 1994). Considering an integration of psychological or mental health status of women during pregnancy, child birth and postpartum are necessary. This is because during this period women often relinquish their autonomy, personal liberty, occupation, identity, capacity to generate income and social relation for caring and nurturing of the infant (Thorpe & Elliott, 1998). The rate and determinants of suicide either in pregnancy or after child birth have proved difficult to determine because of the extent to which the problem is under- estimated or obscured in recording of the causes of death or due to unavailable systematic data.

 Brockington (1998) opined that child birth should be seen as a general stressor that can cause illness across the whole spectrum of psychiatric disorders.  Postpartum or postnatal period is a period of increased risk for development of mood/affective disorders. There are three forms of postpartum affective illnesses: The blues (baby blues) and maternal blues, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. These differ in their clinical presentation and management (Robertson, Calasum & Stewarts, 2008).

 Maternal stress and mental illness seen to have a profound impact in less developed parts of the world. A mother experiencing mental disorder in a low income setting is at risk of providing sub-optimal care for her offspring, which have grave consequences on the health of the woman. Poverty, overcrowding, poor sanitation, malnutrition, tropical diseases, lack of appropriate medical and psychological services may have impact on development of postpartum distress (Patel, DeSouza & Rodrigues, 2003; Rahman, Lovel, Bunn, Iqbal & Harrington, 2004).                The most common postpartum distress is the postpartum depression. It is a clinical and research construct used to describe an episode of major or minor depression arising from child birth (Cox, 1994; Epperson, 1999; Paykel, 2002). Postpartum depression usually begins within the first month to twelve months after child birth. The term is used to describe a non-psychotic depressive episode that begins in postpartum period (Cox, Murray & Chapman, 1993). The period that starts from the moment the placenta is expelled to six weeks is termed as early postpartum. After this period is considered late postpartum period.