343 Adversities, Distress, and Resilience in Hispanic Pregnant Women from Puerto Rico
Objectives/Goals: Pregnancy increases vulnerability to stress and mental health symptoms, particularly among Hispanic women in Puerto Rico (PR), a population with unique socioenvironmental adversities, such as poverty and natural disasters. This study examined the relationships between life adversit...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Clinical and Translational Science |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059866124009725/type/journal_article |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Objectives/Goals: Pregnancy increases vulnerability to stress and mental health symptoms, particularly among Hispanic women in Puerto Rico (PR), a population with unique socioenvironmental adversities, such as poverty and natural disasters. This study examined the relationships between life adversities and psychological distress in this at-risk population. Methods/Study Population: Participants (n = 50) in this cross-sectional study were recruited from an obstetrician’s office in Southern PR. All participants provided written consent and completed the Adverse Life Experiences Scale (ALES, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.71) to identify lifelong adversities faced and the overall duration (chronicity). Measures of psychological distress included the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.96), the Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.79), and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86). Descriptive and Spearman’s rho correlation analyses were conducted. Results/Anticipated Results: The mean age of the participants was 27.90 years (SD = 6.05), with most in the first trimester (66.0%). On average, participants reported 4.32 (SD = 3.1) out of 23 lifetime adversities. The most common adversities were natural disasters (60.0%), loss of a beloved (58.0%), and financial difficulties (38.0%). Nearly half (44.0%) experienced five or more adversities. A significant number of participants met the clinical threshold for anxiety (38.0%, PASS), depression risk (22.0%, EPDS), moderate-to-severe perceived stress (52.0%, PSS), and low resilience (24.0%, BRS). The overall duration of adversities was significantly associated with anxiety (rs = 0.50, p = 0.001) and stress (rs = 0.50, p = 0.007). Discussion/Significance of Impact: Hispanic pregnant women in PR face high levels of adversity and distress, which can negatively affect both maternal health and fetal development, influencing long-term child outcomes. Early identification and targeted interventions addressing adversities, can improve maternal mental health and child health-development outcomes. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2059-8661 |