Predictors of Marital Burnout in Pregnant Women Based on Social Cognitive Theory Components

Pregnancy is considered a critical period in marital life and any changes can lead to marital burnout in pregnant women. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the predictors of marital burnout in pregnant women in Gonabad, based on social cognitive theory components.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 261 pregnant women in Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. The required data were collected using questionnaires, namely a demographic information form, the Couple Burnout Measure, and a lf-structured questionnaire based on social cognitive theory. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 25) using Spearman's coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U test, and linear regression.

The mean age of pregnant mothers was obtained at 28.69±5.47 and they were at 23.67±9.91 weeks of pregnancy. It was revealed that all components of social cognitive theory, except outcome expectation, were significantly associated with marital burnout. This model was able to predict 15% of marital burnout in pregnant women. It was also found that the components of skills (P=0.006), understanding of the situation (P=0.041), self-efficacy of overcoming obstacles (P=0.128), and self-efficacy (P=0.153) were the strongest predictors of marital burnout in descending order.

In this study, the components of skills and understanding of the situation were found to be the most important predictors of marital burnout in pregnant mothers. It is suggested to use this theory, and especially focus more on these variables, in designing educational programs to reduce problems caused by marital burnout in pregnant women.