BACKGROUND: To investigate the current status and dyadic mechanism of maternal and spousal role adaptation for postpartum anxiety and depression. METHODS: Convenience sampling was employed to select 276 pairs of mothers and their spouses from October 2023 to October 2024 as study participants. Binary analyses were conducted using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) and the mediation model. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of anxiety and depression during the first postpartum year were 38.5% and 14.5% among mothers, and 36.9% and 12.9% among their spouses, respectively. The APIM revealed that maternal and spousal role adaptation significantly and negatively predicted their own postpartum anxiety (maternal actor effect: β = -0.120; spousal actor effect: β = -0.081) and depression (maternal actor effect: β = -0.165; spousal actor effect: β = -0.113), and that role adaptation similarly predicted each other's anxiety (maternal partner effect: β = -0.115; spousal partner effect: β = -0.059) and depression (maternal partner effect: β = -0.129, spousal partner effect: β = -0.064). Mediation analyses suggest that future time insight and parenting competence mediate this process. CONCLUSIONS: Postpartum anxiety and depression serve as a dyadic phenomenon, where maternal and spousal role adaptation significantly affects mental health outcomes. Future time insights and feelings of parenting competence serve as mediating variables in the relationship. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
Fu et al. (Sat,) studied this question.