Perinatal mental health and Covid-19-related distress: the role of personality traits.

Publisher: Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore Country of Publication: Italy NLM ID: 0425672 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2038-2502 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00356484 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Riv Psichiatr Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Roma : Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, [196-]-

COVID-19*/psychology ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Personality* ; Mental Health*; Humans ; Female ; Adult ; Pregnancy ; Italy/epidemiology ; Stress, Psychological ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Neuroticism ; Psychological Distress ; Personality Inventory

Background: Perinatal mental health is a topic of growing interest, that could affect mothers in a period of high vulnerability, and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is an important factor to consider in this field. The aim of our study is to study the correlations between five dimensions of personality and subjective Covid-19-related distress in a sample of women in the perinatal period.
Methods: The study included 114 Italian women in the perinatal period. Subjects were asked to complete the Big Five Inventory (BIG-5) and a version of the Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R) anchored to Covid-19-related distress.
Results: When the BIG-5 personality traits and several confounding variables were included in a regression model with IES-R total score as criterion, neuroticism subscale of BIG-5 inventory was the only variable independently associated with higher IES-R total score (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Our study highlights the importance of considering the personality vulnerability factors that can worsen psychopathological symptoms of women in the perinatal period, especially in periods of high psychological stress.

Date Created: 20240423 Date Completed: 20240429 Latest Revision: 20240429

20240501

10.1708/4259.42360

38651775