Associations between patterns of social support and perinatal mental health among Chinese mother: the mediating role of social trust

Abstract

This study aims to explore the correlation between different social support patterns and perinatal mental health, and the mediating role of social trust in this. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jiangsu, China, with a sample size of 1705 pregnant respondents. Latent class analysis (LCA) was utilized to identify various social support patterns, while a multiple regression model was employed to analyze the mediating effect of social trust on the relationship between social support patterns and perinatal mental health. The study found four distinct social support patterns among the respondents: primary relationship-centric support, overall weak support, primary-secondary relationship-balanced support, and overall strong support. In the relationship between social support patterns and perinatal mental health, social trust played both a partial and full mediating role. The findings indicate that a social support system that enhances maternal trust and promotes honest disclosure of symptoms can effectively promote perinatal mental health.