Association between marital relationship, bonding, and depression during pregnancy = 妊娠期における夫婦関係とボンディングおよび抑うつの関連

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the marital relationship, bonding, and depression during pregnancy. We asked 265 mothers and 257 fathers during pregnancy, who consented to participate, to respond to a mail questionnaire, consisting of basic information items, the Quality Marriage Index, Mother-Infant Bonding Questionnaire, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. To clarify the association between the marital relationship, bonding, and depression, we analyzed the collected data using structural equation modelling. The marital relationship predicted mother-infant and father-infant bonding (p< 0.01 and p< 0.001), the marital relationship predicted depression in mothers and fathers (p< 0.01 and p< 0.001), and mother-infant and father-infant bonding did not predict depression in the mothers or fathers during pregnancy. The goodness-of-fit index values for the mothers and fathers were as follows: CFI: 0.977 and 0.976; and RMSEA: 0.041 and 0.042, respectively. The results revealed that the marital relationship predicts mother-infant and father-infant bonding, as well as depression in mothers and fathers during pregnancy, supporting the effectiveness of providing approaches for both mothers and fathers from the perspective of strengthening their marital relationships as a basis for promoting parent-infant bonding during this period. It was also suggested that support for married couples prevents depression in both mothers and fathers, in addition to promoting parent-infant bonding.