Table 3.
The effect of social support (SS) on SWB among pregnant women.
| Author (Year) and Design | Country/setting | Sample size | Mean age | Covariable | Social support outcome measurement | Dependent variable/SWB scale | Result on SWB Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | Emmanuel et al. (2012) and Longitudinal | Australia/Public hospitals | 473 | 18–24 (28.40%), 25–29 (32.4%), 30–45 (38.8%) | Age, length of relationship, partner, education, first antenatal visit, parity, childbirth, education classes | The Maternal Social Support Scale | HRQoL/SF-12 | Social support was found to be a significant and consistent predictor of higher HRQoL scores, particularly in the physical domain at 12 weeks following childbirth and mental domain during the perinatal period. The other significant predictor was the length of relationship with the partner in the mental domain at 36 weeks of pregnancy. |
| (2) | Ngai and Ngu (2013) and Cross sectional | China/Antenatal clinic | 267 | 32.0 ± 4.4 | Age, education, employment status, household income, and gestation | Family Sense of Coherence Scale, Social Readjustment Rating Scale | HRQoL/SF-12 | Family sense of coherence and social support had a direct impact on the mental health component of QoL and depressive symptoms during pregnancy. |
| (3) | Gul et al. (2018) and Cross sectional | Pakistan/District Headquarters Hospital | 120 | 26.76 ± 4.11 | Age, trimester, education, history of illness | Multidimensional scale for perceived social support | HRQoL/SF-36 | There was a significantly positive relationship between social support and health-related QoL among the pregnant subjects. |
| (4) | Elsenbruch et al. (2007) and Cross sectional | Germany/Private practice | 896 | 29.20 ± 5.02 | Week of pregnancy, planned pregnancy, age, partnership status and duration, children, education, employment status, BMI, smoking, and health condition | 22-item version of the social support questionnaire | HRQoL/CES-D, SF-12 | Pregnant women with low support reported increased depressive symptoms and reduced QoL. |
| (5) | Calou et al. (2018) and Cross sectional | Brazil/Public prenatal care services, a private unit in Fortaleza | 261 | 28 | Age, partnership status, education, employment status, income, trimester, prenatal consultation, parity, previous birth | A questionnaire covering sociodemographic, obstetric, and health-related QoL data | HRQoL/Mother-Generated Index | The predictors that positively influenced the QoL: occupation/self-esteem; parity/relationship with the family; partner support/relationship with the partner; marital status/relationship with the partner and persons with whom the woman lives. |
| (6) | MoghaddamHosseini et al. (2021) and Cross sectional | Hungary/Antenatal clinics at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology of the University of Pécs | 477 | 32.41 ± 5.32 | Age, education, employment status, marital status, place of residence, economic hardship, gestational age, parity, wanted pregnancy, history of miscarriage, mode of last birth, and psychological characteristic | Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support | HRQoL/PROMIS-43 | Social support was a significant predictor for better HRQoL in depression. |
| (7) | Macleod and Weaver (2003) and Longitudinal | Maternity units' antenatal clinics | 99 | 19.5 ± 3.26 | Age, postal area, employment status | The Social Support Questionnaire, Network size and composition, Satisfaction with available support | Happiness/ Happiness with 6-choice item, Attitudes toward the pregnancy 15-item rating scale | The participants felt well supported by their families, and many appeared to be in stable relationships throughout the antenatal period. Positive changes in attitudes toward the pregnancy and fetus between 20 and 37 weeks were found. |
| (8) | Pakseresht et al. (2019) and Cross sectional | Iran/Teaching hospital in Rasht | 480 | <18 (0.4%), 18–25 (21%), 26–35 (56.9%), >35 (21.7%) | Age (maternal, husband, marriage), education (maternal, partner), occupation (maternal, partner), marital satisfaction, living with, income, obstetric characteristic | A questionnaire covering their husband's characteristics and support of family/others | Happiness/OHQ | 18.3% of women had low happiness levels, 65.4% moderate level, and 16.3% high level of happiness. Significant association with marital satisfaction, family support |
| (9) | Stevenson et al. (1999) and Cross sectional | Baltimore County/prenatal teen clinics | 67 Black and 43 White | 16.7 | Ethnic composition, age, parity, pregnancy week, and planned pregnancy | Procidano and Heller's 1983 parents and friends scales, Marital Adjustment Scale | LS, Self-esteem/Rosenberg's Self-esteem scale, 5-item LS scale by Diener | The reciprocal exchange of support between parents and teens was correlated with increased mastery and life satisfaction and decreased depression and anxiety. The reciprocal exchange of support with friends did not correlate with well-being. A high-quality relationship with a significant other was associated with increased self-esteem among pregnant teens dating the father of their child. |
| (10) | Yu et al. (2020) and Cross sectional | China/Community Healthcare Service centers | 290 | 31.88 ± 3.83 | Age, educational degree, family per capita monthly income and employment status | Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support | LS/SWLS, SAS, MSPSS | A higher level of perceived social support was related to a higher level of LS. Perceived social support partly mediated the relationship between anxiety symptoms and LS |
| (11) | Gebuza et al. (2014) and Longitudinal | Antenatal ward, clinic “K,” the private gynecological practice | 199 | N\A | Marriage status, education, live with partner, age (maternal, partner), gravidity, parity, financial status, employment status, antenatal class, newborn condition and weight | The Berlin Social Support Scales | LS/SWLS | Significant increase in life satisfaction in the postpartum period. An important correlate of life satisfaction in the third trimester of pregnancy is social support received. |
| (12) | Giblin et al. (1987) and Cross sectional | Prenatal clinic | 57 | 16.6 | Age, socioeconomic status, work/school status, pregnancy outcome | Questionnaires assessed living arrangements, sources of financial support, adolescent female's partner, family, friends to the pregnancy, use of health care services, anticipated assistance with child care | Positive emotion/short-form Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory | The pleasure with pregnancy was positively associated with the receipt of assistance from the adolescent's mother, favorable opinions of friends, and satisfaction with living arrangements. |
| (13) | Nakamura et al. (2018) and Longitudinal | Japan/based on the Japan Environment and Children's Study | 3,513 | 30.5 | Age at delivery, type of family, marital status, education, income, and employment | The Family APGAR | Positive emotion/MCS, Kessler-6 | The extent of positive emotion was significantly related to health-related QoL and satisfaction with family relationships during pregnancy |
| (14) | Rokach (2007) and Cross sectional | Canada/urban city | 91 pregnant women, 97 women during the first year following childbirth, 208 women from the general population | 30.4 ± 10.4 | Age, marital status, education, | General Questionnaire | Loneliness/The Loneliness Antecedents Questionnaire | Sources of loneliness were significantly different amongst the three groups. The differences were confined to the Personal Inadequacies and the Relocation/Significant Separation subscales. |
| (15) | Klein (1998) and Cross sectional | U.S.A/Multiple sites in Northern California | Early (n = 11), middle (n = 22), and late (n = 24) | Early adolescence (12–14), middle adolescence (15–16), and late adolescence (17–21) | Age, race and ethnicity, marital status, employment status, education, participation in Adolescent Family Life Program | Shyness Scale and the Self-Esteem Scale, Perceived Maternal Expressiveness Instrument and the Perceived Paternal Expressiveness Instrument, PRQ-85-Part 11 | Loneliness/UCLA Loneliness Scale | Situational loneliness, as measured by perceived maternal and paternal expressiveness, was expressed with greater significance than characterological loneliness. In the early, middle, and late age groups, there was a significant inverse relationship between social support and loneliness. |
| (16) | Yu et al. (2020) and Longitudinal | Obstetric clinics at a University Hospital | 94 | 23.77 ± 4.42 | Age. public insurance, race and ethnicity, relationship status, mental health, network characteristic, relationship type and closeness | Egocentric social network methods, EgoWeb software | Loneliness UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale | Completers and noncompleters did not differ on key characteristics. Social network density, but not social network size, predicted maternal loneliness in the first and third trimester. |
HRQoL, Health-related Quality of Life; LS, Life Satisfaction; SF-36, 36-Item Short Form Survey; SF-12, 12-Item Short Form Survey; CES-D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; PROMIS, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System; OHQ, The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire; SWLS, Satisfaction with Life Scale; SAS, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale; MSPSS, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; MSC, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.