Investigation of social support perceptions and mental health of postpartum women following the February 6, 2023 Turkey earthquake

A comparative study

Bibliographic Data

ID21622683
AuthorsŞeyma Sehlikoğlu (0000-0002-9512-713X, Adıyaman University), Esra Bekircan (0000-0001-5942-026X, Uni Research (Norway), corresponding author), Sevil Çiçek (0000-0001-6147-8102, İstanbul Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi), Osman Kurt (0000-0003-4164-3611, Inonu University), Sevler Yıldız (0000-0002-9951-9093, Turku City Hospital), Yavuz Şimşek (0000-0002-2625-2973, Women's Hospital), Burcu Sırlıer Emir (0000-0002-3389-5790, Turku City Hospital)
Year2025
Volume44
Issue16
Pages13887-13900
Publication date2025-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1046-1310 • E-ISSN: 1936-4733
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s12144-025-08133-y
OpenAlexW4411634372
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited49

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, have significant psychological consequences, particularly for vulnerable populations like postpartum women. This study aimed to determine the relationship between perceived social support and mental health among postpartum women who had experienced an earthquake. In this comparative cross-sectional study, the case group ( n = 62) consisted of women who were in their third trimester at the time of the earthquake and gave birth after the disaster, while the control group ( n = 62) comprised women who were also in their third trimester during the earthquake and had given birth but were not residing in the earthquake-affected region and had no prior experience of an earthquake. The study did not include individuals with intellectual disabilities, illiteracy. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic data form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). The incidence rates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (40.3%) and Postpartum depression (43.5%) in postpartum women who experienced the earthquake were significantly higher than those in women who did not (Posttraumatic stress disorder: 6.5%, Postpartum depression: 16.1%) (respectively, p p =.001). The mean total MSPSS score of postpartum women who experienced the earthquake (61.7 ± 16.9) was significantly higher than that of those who did not (51.9 ± 13.2) ( p p =.001). In postpartum women who experienced the earthquake, there was a significant positive correlation between PTGI and MSPSS scores, and between PCL-5 and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores ( p

Developmental psychology · Mental health · Perception · Psychiatry · Social support · Clinical Psychology · Disaster Response and Management · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology

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