Moderating Role of Pregnancy Between Coping Strategies and Positive and Negative Affect

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of pregnancy among coping strategies and positive and negative affect in Pakistani women. The sample constituted of 200 married women (100 pregnant women & 100 non-pregnant women) aged between 20 to 40 years. The sample was selected through purposive sampling technique based on the cross-sectional research design. The married pregnant and non-pregnant women were inquired at the Gynecology and Obstetrics department of hospitals in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Taxila. Measures of Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) and Brief Cope Scale (Carver, 1997) were used to assess positive and negative emotions as well as coping strategies among pregnant and non-pregnant married women, respectively. Results showed that pregnancy was a partial moderator between active avoidance coping, emotion focused coping, problem focused coping, religious coping, and positive affect and negative affect. The study recommended that pregnant women should be facilitated by controlling the negative affect, especially the women who were in their early adulthood as they had higher vulnerability towards affect influences. It would be accommodating for health and clinical settings to provide pregnant women with better psychological well-being ensuring their health and the health of their expected offspring.