A cross-cultural comparison of maternal perinatal perceived stress and anxiety before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from Turkey and Czech Republic.

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Takacs L., Ustu T. N., Gonultas E., Ullman J., Kankova S., Duman E. A.

Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology Meeting, Liverpool, İngiltere, 26 - 28 Ağustos 2025, cilt.44, sa.1, ss.230-411, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Cilt numarası: 44
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Liverpool
  • Basıldığı Ülke: İngiltere
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.230-411
  • Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background Perinatal stress and anxiety are affected by cultural factors, but cross-cultural studies on these mental health conditions are scarce, especially those investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims and Objectives To compare maternal perceived stress and anxiety levels at multiple time points across the perinatal period in the cohorts from Turkey and the Czech Republic, while assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Pregnant women were recruited before and during the pandemic in Turkey (N=196, Mage=32.4) and the Czech Republic (N=289, Mage=31.5). Both cohorts were similar in terms of education and family income. Women completed the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (state form) (Marteau & Bekker, 1992) in the second (T1) and third (T2) trimesters and at 1–2 months postpartum (T3). ANOVA was used to determine the differences in perceived stress and anxiety across T1– T3 along with the effect of the pandemic on these differences. Results In both cohorts, perceived stress was higher at T3 compared to T1 and T2. State anxiety was also higher at T3 compared to T1 and T2, but only in the cohort from Turkey. Assessing differences between the cohorts across T1–T3, perceived stress was significantly higher in the Turkey cohort at T1 and T3 (with a trend-level also at T2), whereas state anxiety was significantly higher in the Czech cohort at T1 and T2. We observed no differences in perceived stress or state anxiety depending on the pandemic period (preversus during the pandemic) or family income in either cohort. Conclusions In women with similar socioeconomic backgrounds in two culturally distinct pregnancy cohorts, we observed differences in perinatal perceived stress and state anxiety without detecting effects of the pandemic or family income. These differences may stem from sociocultural factors affecting perinatal mental health.