Grandparental Support and Maternal Postpartum Mental Health

Human Nature 34 (1):25-45 (2023)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Support from grandparents plays a role in mothers’ perinatal mental health. However, previous research on maternal mental health has mainly focused on influences of partner support or general social support and neglected the roles of grandparents. In this narrative review and meta-analysis, the scientific evidence on the association between grandparental support and maternal perinatal mental health is reviewed. Searches in PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, and PsycINFO yielded 11 empirical studies on N = 3381 participants, reporting on 35 effect sizes. A multilevel approach to meta-analysis was applied to test the association between grandparental support and maternal mental health. The results showed a small, statistically significant association (r =.16; 95% CI: 0.09–0.25). A moderator test indicated that the association was stronger for studies reporting on support from the maternal grandmother in particular (r =.23; 95% CI: 0.06–0.29). Our findings suggest that involved grandparents, in particular mother’s own mother, constitute a protective factor for the development of maternal postpartum mental health problems. These findings have clear implications for interventions. Future studies should examine whether stimulating high-quality support from grandparents is a fruitful avenue for enhancing maternal postpartum mental health.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 98,169

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Grandparental investment: Past, present, and future.David A. Coall & Ralph Hertwig - 2010 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 33 (1):1-19.
The Place of Proximity.Brooke A. Scelza - 2011 - Human Nature 22 (1-2):108-127.

Analytics

Added to PP
2023-02-10

Downloads
26 (#712,352)

6 months
7 (#589,803)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

P-curve: A key to the file-drawer.Uri Simonsohn, Leif D. Nelson & Joseph P. Simmons - 2014 - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 143 (2):534-547.
Grandparental investment: Past, present, and future.David A. Coall & Ralph Hertwig - 2010 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 33 (1):1-19.
Crucial Contributions.Brooke A. Scelza & Katie Hinde - 2019 - Human Nature 30 (4):371-397.

Add more references