Pregnancy Stress and Depression among Hospitalized Women with High-Risk Pregnancies: Serial Multiple Mediation by Mindfulness and Anxiety
Myungji Kim, Heekyung Hong, Hyunkyung Choi
Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing June 30, 2026 DOI: 10.12934/jkpmhn.2026.35.2.185 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional descriptive study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 109 |
| Population | Hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancies admitted to a maternal-fetal intensive care unit in Korea |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Key findings | Pregnancy stress was associated with depression through a serial pathway: mindfulness and then anxiety fully mediated the relationship (indirect effect = 0.03, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.05). The authors suggest that mindfulness-based stress management and emotional support programs may benefit hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancies. |
Abstract
Purpose: This study investigated the mediating roles of mindfulness and anxiety in the association between pregnancy stress and depression among hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancies.
Methods: Employing a cross-sectional descriptive design, this study was guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. Data were collected from 109 high-risk pregnant women admitted to a maternal-fetal intensive care unit in Korea. IBM SPSS 27.0 and Hayes's PROCESS macro, version 4.2, were used for data analysis.
Results: A significant serial multiple mediation effect of mindfulness and anxiety was observed in the association between pregnancy stress and depression among the hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancies (Effect=0.03, 95% CI=0.01 to 0.05).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the association between pregnancy stress and depression is fully mediated through the sequential interaction of mindfulness and anxiety. Consequently, implementing mindfulness-based stress management and emotional support programs is recommended for women with high-risk pregnancies during their hospitalization.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |