Poster Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Pregnant Women’s Empowerment Related To Their Well-Being And Maternal Attachment (#804)

Ana Carolina Barris-Oliveira 1 , Patricia R. Tobo 1 , Eduardo Zlotnik 2 , Fernanda F. Assir 2 , Ana Lucia Neves 2 , Adolfo W. Liao 2 , Carla R. C. Barrichello 1 , Valdiney V. Gouveia 3
  1. Natura Inovação, Cajamar, Brasil
  2. Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brasil
  3. Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brasil

Women’s empowerment is an important psychological attribute, being able to improve their self-esteem and obtain control over resources. Although it is recognized as multi-dimensional, it can also be thought as a high order construct, contributing to explain  women’s health. This study aimed to know if well-being correlates to women’s empowerment during pregnancy, in addition to its association with indicators of maternal attachment. Participants were 335 pregnant women with a mean age of 28.9 years, mostly of high socioeconomic classes on first (52.9%), second (41.5%) or third (31.6%) trimester of their first pregnancy. They answered the following measures: Women’s Empowerment Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Perception of Stress Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Happiness Scale, and demographic questions. Results indicated that women’s empowerment was directly correlated with positive attributes of well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affects, and self-esteem), showing an inverse pattern with negative ones (anxiety, depression, negative affects, and stress). Moreover, it was positively correlated with the maternal attachment. In conclusion, this study reinforces the adequacy of women’s empowerment to promote their mental health during pregnancy, including its association with maternal attachment.