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Trait Forgiveness and Dyadic Adjustment Predict Postnatal Depression

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Abstract

The birth of a first child can be stressful on intimate partner relationships and the women having their first child. Conflict can occur, and hurts might be experienced, which could lead to post-partum depression. Thus, capacity for forgiveness with specific hurts might affect post-partum depression. We investigated women having their first child (N = 52), and examined whether dyadic adjustment, trait forgiveness, and situational forgiving during pregnancy predicted postpartum depression. This study found that marital forgiveness predicted lower levels of depression above and beyond the effects of general dyadic adjustment. Dyadic adjustment and trait forgiveness predicted postpartum depression while situational forgiving was mixed. Postpartum depression researchers are encouraged to consider the inclusion of positive psychology variables, such as forgiveness, in future research studies.

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Author Contributions

J. R.: Conducted data analysis and wrote the paper. E. W.: designed and executed the study, assisted with the data analyses. R. G.: Executed the study and assisted with data analyses D. D., J. H., C. R. and D. V.: collaborated with the design, execution and writing of the study. A. V.: analyzed part of the data and wrote part of the results. C. N., R. C., A. C. L., S. J. and B. A.: collaborated in the design, writing and editing of the final manuscript.

Funding

We want to express our gratitude to the Fetzer Institute (#2266, Forgiveness and Relational Spirituality) and the John Templeton Foundation (#14979, Relational Humility; # 48321, Behavioral Measures of Humility in Couples) for contributing the funding toward the current project that made it possible. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Fetzer Institute or the John Templeton Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, 23464, USA

    Jennifer S. Ripley & Amy Voltmer

  2. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Everett L. Worthington Jr., Rachel C. Garthe, Camilla W. Nonterah, Anthony Coetzer-Liversage & Athena Cairo

  3. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Don E. Davis

  4. University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA

    Joshua N. Hook

  5. College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

    Chelsea A. Reid

  6. Hope College, Holland, MI, 49423, USA

    Daryl R. Van Tongeren

  7. North West University South Africa, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Richard G. Cowden

  8. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Shaun Joynt

  9. University of Health and Allied Sciences of Ghana, Hohoe, Ghana

    Bright Akpalu

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  1. Jennifer S. Ripley
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  2. Everett L. Worthington Jr.
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  3. Rachel C. Garthe
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  4. Don E. Davis
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  6. Chelsea A. Reid
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  7. Daryl R. Van Tongeren
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  8. Amy Voltmer
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  9. Camilla W. Nonterah
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  10. Richard G. Cowden
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  11. Anthony Coetzer-Liversage
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  12. Athena Cairo
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  13. Shaun Joynt
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  14. Bright Akpalu
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Correspondence to Jennifer S. Ripley.

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Ethics Statement

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. IRB approval for the study was obtained through Virginia Commonwealth University’s IRB.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ripley, J.S., Worthington, E.L., Garthe, R.C. et al. Trait Forgiveness and Dyadic Adjustment Predict Postnatal Depression. J Child Fam Stud 27, 2185–2192 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1053-0

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