Unplanned pregnancy and corporal punishment: Maternal depression as a mediator

Background Unplanned pregnancy, maternal depression, and corporal punishment are major public health concerns, yet their interplay remains poorly understood in low- and middle-income settings. Objective To examine whether maternal depression mediates the link between unplanned pregnancy and corporal punishment, and whether this indirect association is moderated by maternal education. Participants and setting Secondary analysis of 20,354 mothers from the nationally representative Peruvian ENDES surveys (2022–2024). Methods Structural equation modeling with complex survey design and multigroup analyses by education. Results Unplanned pregnancy was positively associated with depression (b = 0.198, p < .001), depression was associated with a greater likelihood of corporal punishment (b = 0.124, p < .001). The direct (b = 0.122) and indirect (b = 0.024) effects were significant ( p < .001). The standardized indirect effect was small (β = 0.012). Indirect paths differed by education: significant among secondary (b = 0.025) and higher (b = 0.031) groups, but not primary-or-less (b = 0.007; Wald χ 2 (2) = 10.14, p = .006). Conclusions Depression accounts for a small but detectable share of the association, yet due to the cross-sectional design and misaligned reference periods, results should be read as statistical associations, not causal evidence.