Substance use and mental health in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
J Reprod Infant Psychol
; 40(5): 465-478, 2022 Nov.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1192234
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
We examined the prevalence of substance use as a coping mechanism and identified relationships between maternal mental health over time and use of substances to cope during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among pregnant women in the U.S.A.METHODS:
Self-reported repeated measures from 83 pregnant women were collected online in April 2020 and May 2020. Women retrospectively reported their mental/emotional health before the pandemic, as well as depression, stress, and substance use as a result of the pandemic at both time points. Linear regression measured cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between mental health and substance use.RESULTS:
Pre-COVID-19 reports of poorer mental/emotional health (b = 0.46) were significantly (p < .05) associated with number of substances used to cope with the pandemic. Elevated stress (b = 0.35) and depressive symptoms (b = 0.27) and poorer mental/emotional health (b = 0.14) in April were also significantly related to higher numbers of substances used in May (p < .05).CONCLUSION:
Pregnant women's psychological well-being may be a readily measured indicator substance use risk during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions addressing increased stress and depression may also mitigate the emergence of greater substance use among pregnant women.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Substance-Related Disorders
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
J Reprod Infant Psychol
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
02646838.2021.1916815
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