Couple coping profiles associated with prenatal depression and anxiety

Researchers surveyed 503 heterosexual expectant couples recruited from two tertiary hospitals in Zhejiang Province, China. In this cross-sectional study, both partners completed validated online measures of dyadic coping, depression and anxiety. The researchers used latent profile analyses to identify couple-level coping and emotional-symptom patterns, then examined factors associated with profile membership.

Depressive symptoms were reported by 18.7% of mothers and 13.3% of fathers; anxiety symptoms by 31.0% and 21.3%, respectively. The analyses identified six dyadic coping profiles and three emotional-symptom profiles. Couples reporting stronger and more balanced coping were more likely to fall into the low-symptom group. Low or discordant perceived coping patterns were associated with elevated maternal distress. Maternal employment, paternal gender expectations and a loving paternal marital relationship were also associated with the likelihood of high maternal symptoms.

The findings describe associations in this sample, not evidence that changing couples’ coping will reduce symptoms. The cross-sectional design cannot establish direction or causality, and recruitment from two hospitals in one Chinese province may limit generalizability. The study supports further evaluation of relationship-focused approaches but does not test an intervention.