How to measure ego-resiliency in the face of various life-changing crises: Measurement invariance, convergent and discriminant validity and reliability of the Polish version of the Revised Ego-Resiliency Scale (ER89-R12).

This study examines the generalizability of the latent structure of the Polish version of the Ego-Resiliency Scale (ER89-R12), a brief self-report scale that measures ego-resiliency. We investigated the measurement invariance, validity, and reliability of ER89-R12 among three groups of individuals who were facing various major, long-term, life-changing crises (N = 512): parents of children with Down's syndrome, women with breast cancer, and individuals after divorce. The analysis of the measurement invariance confirmed the two-factor structure of the questionnaire and the high reliability of this measure in those studied groups. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance across the three groups. Moreover, the correlation patterns were similar across the groups. Ego-resiliency was strongly and consistently positively correlated with mental health: psychological well-being, perceived social support, self-esteem, and post-traumatic growth, and negatively correlated with perceived stress. The presented results indicate the potential usefulness of the ER89-R12 tool in studies on people experiencing various crises in their lives.

Health-Related Quality-of-Life among Pregnant Women after First, Second, and Multiple Cesarean Sections in the Perinatal Period: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study.

The primary objective of this study was to compare assessments of health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) in women who had a medical qualification for cesarean section (CS), depending on the number of CSs in their medical history. A short longitudinal study was conducted among 115 women on the day before a planned cesarean section (CS)-T1, and on the third day after CS-T2. They were divided into three groups. G1: no CS (n = 17); G2: one CS (n = 34); G3: two or more CSs (n = 64). Participants completed a set of questionnaires concerning sociodemographic aspects and psychological outcomes: the HRQoL questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L). A chi-square test, McNemar's test, and repeated measures ANOVA were used to compare the three groups in T1 and T2. Regardless of the number of CSs, before a CS, women mainly experience health problems with pain and anxiety/depression, and after a CS, mostly problems with pain, usual activity, and mobility. All participants experienced an increase in the amount of health problems with mobility and pain after a CS. Women who have had two or more CSs also had problems with self-care and usual activities. Women who have had one or two CSs experienced a decrease in the general assessment of the HRQoL, which is not observed in the group of women with multiple CSs. However, the HRQoL of women in the group with multiple CSs was lower before the CS than in the other groups. The results indicated the significance of the number of CSs, not only in postoperative, but also in preoperative HRQoL.

Common model of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in pregnant women from seven high-income Western countries at the COVID-19 pandemic onset.

OBJECTIVE: Increases in stress, anxiety, and depression among women pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported internationally. Yet rigorous comparison of the prevalence of maternal mental health problems across countries is lacking. Moreover, whether stress is a common predictor of maternal mental health during the pandemic across countries is unknown. METHODS: 8148 pregnant women from Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States were enrolled in the International COVID-19 Pregnancy Experiences (I-COPE) Study between April 17 and May 31, 2020. Sociodemographic characteristics, pandemic-related stress, pregnancy-specific stress, anxiety, and depression were assessed with well-validated instruments. The magnitude of stress and mood disturbances was compared across countries. A path model predicting clinically significant levels of anxiety and depression from maternal characteristics and stress was tested for all study participants and then examined separately in each country with >200 participants. RESULTS: Countries differed significantly in magnitude of pandemic-related pregnancy stress and pandemic-unrelated pregnancy-specific stress, and in prevalence of clinically significant anxiety and depression levels. A well-fitting common path model for the entire sample indicated that mood and anxiety disturbances were strongly predicted by pandemic-related and pregnancy-specific stress after accounting for maternal characteristics. The model was replicated in individual countries. CONCLUSIONS: Although pregnant women in high-income Western countries experienced different levels of stress resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, stress is a strong, common predictor of anxiety and depressive symptoms in these individuals. The common model can be used to inform research and clinical interventions to protect against adverse consequences of prenatal maternal stress, anxiety, and depression for mothers and infants.

Anxiety among pregnant women during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.

Although anxiety is common because of the transitional nature of the perinatal period, particularly high levels of anxiety have been observed in some studies of pregnant women during the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the severity of anxiety among pregnant women during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, and factors associated with it. Cross-sectional study with a total of 1050 pregnant women recruited via social media in Poland during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 1 until June 1, 2020. The survey included validated psychological measures: the GAD-7 (anxiety), the PREPS (pandemic stress), with two subscales: preparedness and infection stress, and obstetric, sociodemographic and COVID-19 related variables. T-tests, ANOVAs, and hierarchical binary logistic regression for dichotomized GAD-7 scores (minimal or mild vs. moderate or severe) were used. Over a third of respondents experienced moderate or severe levels of anxiety. Predictors of moderate or severe anxiety were non-pandemic related factors like unplanned pregnancy and emotional and psychiatric problems, as well as pandemic related pregnancy stress. Levels of anxiety among pregnant women during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland exceeded pre-pandemic norms. Findings suggest that prior psychiatric conditions, unplanned pregnancy, and elevated pandemic-related pregnancy stress due to concerns about infection or poor preparation for birth contributed to the risk of high anxiety in Polish pregnant women during the pandemic onset. Given the harmful effects of antenatal anxiety on the health and well-being of mothers and their children, psychotherapeutic interventions, efforts to alleviate pregnant women's stress, and training in adaptive ways to cope with stress are vital to reduce the prevalence of maternal anxiety and its potential consequences during this global crisis.

Pandemic Stress and Its Correlates among Pregnant Women during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Poland.

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous stressful conditions, especially for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. Pandemic-related pregnancy stress consists of two dimensions: stress associated with feeling unprepared for birth due to the pandemic (Preparedness Stress), and stress related to fears of perinatal COVID-19 infection (Perinatal Infection Stress). The purpose of our study was to elucidate the association between various factors-sociodemographic, obstetric, pandemic-related, and situational-and pandemic stress in its two dimensions during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Polish pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a total of 1119 pregnant women recruited during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (between November 2020 and January 2021). Participants were recruited via social media to complete an online study questionnaire that included sociodemographic, obstetric, situational, and COVID-19 pandemic factors, as well as the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS). Results: Nearly 38.5% of participants reported high Preparedness Stress; 26% reported high Perinatal Infection Stress. Multivariate analyses indicated that lack of COVID-19 diagnosis, higher compliance with safety rules and restrictions, and limited access to outdoor space were independently associated with moderate to severe levels of Infection Stress. Current emotional or psychiatric problems, nulliparity, limited access to outdoor space, and alterations to obstetric visits were independently associated with moderate to severe Preparedness Stress. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that particular attention should be focused on the groups of pregnant women who are most vulnerable to pandemic-related stress and therefore may be more prone to adverse outcomes associated with prenatal stress.

Factors associated with fear of childbirth among Polish pregnant women.

The purpose of our study was to elucidate the association between obstetric and psychological factors and fear of childbirth (FOC) during the third trimester of pregnancy and to identify women at risk of severe FOC in Poland. An additional goal of the study was to verify the Polish version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (W-DEQ) and to establish its psychometric characteristics. Cross-sectional study with a total of 359 women recruited during routine visits to an antenatal clinic in Poland during the third trimester (≥ 27 weeks gestation). The survey included obstetric details (parity, obstetric history and preferred mode of delivery), and standardized psychological measures: the W-DEQ (fear of childbirth) and the EPDS (depressive symptoms). We demonstrated the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the W-DEQ. Our findings confirm the one-factor structure found by the authors of the original version of the scale. A greater FOC was reported by women with unplanned pregnancies, women whose preferred mode of delivery was a cesarean section, and women who had previously undergone psychiatric treatment. The risk factors for severe FOC were depression, unplanned pregnancy or parity, and disagreement with the birth plan proposed by the obstetrician. The W-DEQ is a widely used, valid instrument for the assessment of FOC in pregnant women and can be used in Poland. Findings support the key role of obstetric and psychological variables in predicting fear of childbirth.

Pandemic-related pregnancy stress assessment-Psychometric properties of the Polish PREPS and its relationship with childbirth fear.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to create and to validate the Polish version of the original English version of the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) developed by Preis and colleagues (2020a; 2020b) We additionally investigated the association of maternal obstetrical and pandemic related factors with the PREPS in order to test its sensitivity. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design with nonrandom sampling was used. The sample consisted of a total of 1148 pregnant women in various trimesters. They were recruited via social media and completed an online study questionnaire in April-May 2020. RESULTS: The results of the present research indicate satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the PREPS. Our findings confirm the factor structure found by the authors of the original English version of the PREPS. The scale consists of two stress subscales: perinatal infection stress and preparedness stress and one additional positive appraisal scale. Pandemic-related pregnancy stress is significantly associated with fear of childbirth and with non-pandemic pregnancy-specific stress, which bolsters its convergent validity. Higher levels of pandemic-related pregnancy stress are experienced by primiparas, those in their second or third trimester, women who received infertility treatment, and those with a high-risk pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The Polish version of the PREPS has sound psychometric properties and replicates the structure of the original English PREPS. This stress scale can be used to investigate additional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify women at risk of high stress and those who need intervention.