Correlation between Emotional Intelligence and its Components with Postpartum Depression

Depression is a major postpartum mental disorder. Coping with depression needs a high level of coping and problem solving strategies named emotional intelligence. This study aimed to determine the correlation of emotional intelligence and its components with postpartum depression.
In this descriptive-correlational study, 190 pregnant women presenting to health centers in Sabzevar City, Iran, in 2016, who met the inclusion criteria as Iranian nationality, literacy, age of 15-40 years, lack of high-risk pregnancies, married, and lack of preterm delivery were selected via quota sampling. Data collection instruments were demographic-obstetric questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Bar-On Emotional Intelligence. Inventories were completed in the last trimester of pregnancy and the Edinburgh scale was filled two months after childbirth. Data were analyzed using two-sample t-test, variance analysis, linear regression and Pearson’s correlation via SPSS software at the significance level of 0.05.
Findings: Mothers’ mean age was 27.58 ± 5.49 years, 55% of them had high emotional intelligence, and 21.7% had postpartum depression. Depression was less prevalent in women with higher affective support than those with moderate affective support (P = 0.046). Beck score (P Considering the findings and the fact that emotional intelligence can be taught, it is recommended that mother's emotional intelligence score be determined before delivery, and postpartum depression be reduced by increasing emotional intelligence score through training programs and appropriate method.