The Relationship between Psychological Hardiness and Coping Strategies during Pregnancy

Although pregnancy seems to be a pleasant experience in a women’s life, the accompanied physical and psychological changes lead to high levels of stress in mothers. Prenatal stress widely affects the physical and mental health of mothers and infants; therefore, adopting appropriate coping strategies are highly required. Considering the importance of coping strategies in psychological hardiness, we aimed to determine the relationship between psychological hardiness and prenatal coping strategies. This correlational study was conducted on 500 pregnant women, referring to the healthcare centers of Mashhad, Iran in 2014. The study subjects were selected via convenience sampling. Data collection tools included Kobasa Hardiness Scale, the Revised Prenatal Coping Inventory and Perceived Stress Scale. For data analysis, Spearman correlation coefficient and regression analysis were performed, using SPSS version 16. The significance level was considered to be 0.05. Psychological hardiness had a significant positive correlation with planning/ preparation (r=0.70, P<0.001) and positive/spiritual coping strategies (r= 0.75, P<0.001). However, a significant negative correlation was found between psychological hardiness and avoidance coping strategy (r=− 0.81, P<0.001). Considering that psychological hardiness was correlated with planning/preparation and positive/spiritual coping strategies, it is recommended to encourage pregnant women to adopt these adaptive strategies to overcome stress during pregnancy.