Investigation of the association between psychological resilience and prenatal distress in pregnant women

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological resilience (PR) and prenatal distress (PD) in pregnant women and to identify the key variables associated with PD. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Outpatient Clinic of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital between January 1, 2025, and October 1, 2025. A total of 71 pregnant women aged 21–40 years who applied to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Outpatient Clinic in consecutive order were included in the final analysis. Participants who volunteered to participate completed a sociodemographic data form, the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ), and the Psychological Resilience Scale for Adults (PRSA). In the study, none of the sociodemographic and obstetric variables were statistically significantly associated with PD ( p > 0.05). A weak negative and statistically significant correlation was determined between PD and PR total scores ( r = -0.238, r² = 0.06; p = 0.046). This relationship was observed to be more prominent, and considerably stronger, in the family cohesion sub-dimension ( r = -0.508, r² = 0.26; p < 0.001). In the multiple regression analysis including the six PR sub-dimensions, conducted to determine the variables associated with PD, it was found that family cohesion (B = -0.515, 95% CI: -0.727 to -0.303; β = -0.585; p < 0.001) was the only variable significantly associated with PD. It was determined that the created final model explained 31.9% of the variance in PD (R2 = 0.319; Adjusted R2 = 0.256; F = 5.006; p < 0.001). Statistical significance for all analyses was set a priori at ( p < 0.05). PR, particularly the family cohesion sub-dimension, was associated with lower levels of PD. The sociodemographic and obstetric variables were not associated with PD. Given the cross-sectional design, these associations should not be interpreted as causal. Not applicable.