Meaningful orientations and asthenia in pregnant women and young mothers during the first COVID-19 pandemic wave

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Pregnancy and childcare are naturally stressful for women, often accompanied by the asthenic syndrome. In a pandemic situation, this type of stress may be potentiated by external conditions. Objective(s) The study aimed to investigate the life-state orientations and asthenia levels of pregnant women and young mothers in the context of a pandemic. We also analyzed the correlations between the life-state orientations and the different types of asthenias. Method(s) Data collection was carried out in June 2020 using a Google form that we developed. Pregnant women and young mothers with children under seven years of age participated in the study with 47 respondents. We used the Purpose-in-Life Test to investigate the meaningful orientations and the MFI-20 to determine the level of asthenia. Both questionnaires were adapted for use in Russia. Result(s) We found that the mean overall MFI-20 score (M = 58.0+/-5.9) exceeded the mean values in our sample, indicating the presence of the asthenic syndrome. Physical asthenia (M = 12.9+/-1.4) and decreased activity (M = 12.0+/-1.7) were the strongest, with the lowest score on the general asthenia scale (M = 10.6+/-1.8). Correlation analysis showed that all components of meaningful orientations had multiple positive correlations with different types of asthenias, and the overall asthenia score was 100 % related to life meaningfulness (p < 0.01). Conclusion(s) Pregnant women and young mothers are at risk for asthenia in the COVID-19 pandemic. This is obviously due to many responsibilities of mothers raising children.