The Relationship of Emotional State and Life-Meaning Orientations in Women's Mind During the Period of Adaptation to Parenthood

Efremova Sof'ya Konstantinovna Assistant, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Novosibirsk State Technical University 630073, Novosibirsk, Karl Marx Ave., 20 zababurina.sofa@gmail.com

Kavun Lyudmila Viktorovna PhD in Psychology Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Novosibirsk State Technical University 630073, Russia, Novosibirskaya oblast', g. Novosibirsk, ul. Prospekt K.marksa, 20 liudmila.kavun@yandex.ru

Introduction.

The relevance of research. The relevance of this study is due to an increase in the number of emotional and affective disorders in women in the postpartum period, as indicated by a number of authors (Poluektova O.G., Khrushch I.A., etc.). ^[9]

Changes in the emotional sphere, which manifest themselves in a variety of neurotic reactions of pregnant women and women who have given birth, researchers associate with the following socio-psychological factors: accentuation of character and temperament; psychological unpreparedness for pregnancy and childbirth; unconstructive styles of pregnancy; complex relationships and conflicts in family relationships; domestic difficulties; the presence of a burdened obstetric or somatic history; the presence of an acute stressful situation, etc. (Filippova G.G., Dobryakov I.V.). ^{[12, 13]}

If we consider pregnancy as a crisis situation (Kartashova K.S., Shelekhov I.L., Kozhevnikov V.N., Mytnikova M.N.), when a man and a woman are faced with the uncertainty of the future, with a change in their status, with the need to take responsibility for the life and development of a child ^[4], it seems important to consider the connection of the emotional state of women during the period of waiting for a child and the period of adaptation to the role of a parent with the characteristics of meaningfulness of life, time perspective, a sense of saturation of life, a degree of confidence in the ability to manage their lives, etc.

The subject of the study is the relationship of life-meaning orientations and emotional state in women during the period of adaptation to the role of a parent.

The purpose of the study is to identify the relationship between the emotional state of women during pregnancy and in the period after the birth of a child with the characteristics of meaningfulness of life and resilience.

The following hypotheses were put forward:

1.                There is a relationship between the degree of meaningfulness of life and the emotional state of women during the period of adaptation to the role of a parent: the higher the indicators of meaningfulness of life, the less the severity of neurotic symptoms.

2.                There is a relationship between the indicators of resilience and emotional state in women during the period of adaptation to the role of a parent: the higher the indicators of resilience, the lower the indicators for the components of anxiety.

3.                The level of anxiety in women after the birth of a child is higher than the level of anxiety while waiting for a child.

Scientific novelty.

The novelty of this study is that for the first time, changes in the characteristics of meaningfulness of life and resilience that occur in women during the period of adaptation to the role of parents were revealed. The revealed interrelations of the parameters of the value-semantic sphere with the components of anxiety allow us to make a corrective program to reduce the level of anxiety after the birth of a child through work with the value-semantic sphere.

For the first time, the inverse relationship between life-meaning orientations and resilience was revealed. With an increase in the meaningfulness of life, the resilience of women decreased.

Research methodology.

The research is based on the theory of life-meaning orientations and resilience, revealed in the works of such authors as Leontiev D.A., Bratus B.S., Leontiev A.N., Chudnovsky V.E., Vasilyuk F.E., Maddi S.

The study was also based on the works of authors such as Khanin G., Spielberger Ch., Dobryakov I.V., Filippova G.G. concerning the emotional state (including the emotional state of women during pregnancy and the postpartum period).

Literature review.

The meaning of life, understanding of one's own goals, motives, and life orientations are important features that characterize a person. Bratus B.S. ^[1] wrote that the meaning of a person's life is formed during a person's interaction with the surrounding reality and society, and also depends on a person's own feelings, his interests, goals and how a person imagines his own development, self-realization.

The meaning of life tends to change during a person's life in connection with events that occur; at each age stage it has different dynamics and individual content features.

For the normal functioning and development of personality, it is necessary that a person has an adequate understanding of why he carries out this or that activity, what consequences his actions bear, what responsibility lies on him when making decisions. If a person does not understand what goal is in front of him, then most likely his activity will not be productive.

In the existential-humanistic approach, health is considered as a human condition that arose in the process of understanding one's own existence and taking responsibility for it, striving for development by making free and correct decisions based on one's own resources. A person is responsible for his or her choices, so the emotional state and state of health are the result of the person's own choices and actions.

V.E. Chudnovsky ^[15] considered life-meaning orientations as a set of values and goals peculiar only to a given personality, which she chose as fundamental for her existence and development. A person makes decisions throughout his life and on the basis of this his individual system of value orientations develops.

D.A. Leontiev ^[7] considered life-meaning orientations as complex socio-psychological formations that are generated by significant real life relationships of a person with the surrounding reality, and they are relevant to the entire life path of a person (in the past, present, future). Life-meaning orientations are a vector and set the boundaries of a person's self-realization in the course of her life.

V.E. Chudnovsky ^[15] writes that the meaning-of-life orientations of a person as a whole are permanent structures of personality. But in some situations, for example, at the moment of a personality crisis, at the moment of disconnection from the previous environment (in stressful situations), life orientations may change. A person "adapts" his internal principles, values, attitudes and motives to new conditions.

Thus, meaningful life orientations are an integral system of conscious and selective connections, reflecting the orientation of the individual, the presence of life goals, the meaningfulness of choices and assessments, satisfaction with life (self–realization) and the ability to take responsibility for it, influencing its course. ^{[2, 5]}

Currently, the question of human behavior in various life situations is relevant, as the rhythm of life accelerates every year, information saturation increases. Life and society impose new demands on a person. A person is responsible not only for his life, but also for success in life. In order to adapt to new requirements, to successfully realize oneself in activity and society, a person must be able to independently develop individual problem-solving skills that will help him to interact effectively with other people and self-actualize.

New requirements that are imposed on a person, new conditions and rapidly occurring changes in society make it necessary to study the phenomenon of resilience proposed by the American psychologist S. Muddy.

S. Muddy considered resilience as a pattern of the structure of attitudes and skills that allows you to turn environmental changes into opportunities that a person is able to realize. A person has the ability to modify the environment around him, adapting it to his capabilities, goals, desires.

Resilience is a system of beliefs about oneself, about the surrounding reality, about relationships with the world and society. Resilience includes three relatively autonomous components in its structure: involvement, control, and risk-taking. The components of resilience are obstacles to the emergence of internal tension in crisis situations due to the mechanisms of coping with stress and the perception of stress as less significant in life. ^[8] When all three components of resilience are expressed, a person can maintain an optimal level of performance and activity in stressful situations and this is what helps him to maintain health.

Resilience helps a person to perceive a crisis situation as less traumatic, since a person is ready to actively act, adapt the environment to his goals and desires, while a person has confidence that it is possible to influence the situation. At the same time, resilience helps a person to actively overcome difficulties that hinder the achievement of goals and self-realization, as well as difficulties that may threaten life in general. Resilience activates a person's concern for their own health and emotional state, helps to maintain an active position in relation to the world and the environment, so that tension and stress do not become chronic and do not lead to psychosomatic diseases.

The next concept that is important to consider in the framework of the study is anxiety. "Anxiety" has several different meanings. Anxiety can be considered as a mental state that occurs against the background of stress, frustration of important human needs, conflicts. Also, anxiety can be considered as a property of personality.

Tsch. Spielberger wrote that anxiety is a reflection of an emotional state or a certain set of reactions of a subject who perceives a situation as dangerous to his own personality. ^[11]

One of the important aspects of the study is the peculiarities of the emotional state of women during pregnancy.

In the first trimester, many women have olfactory sensitivity, intolerance to certain odors, irritability, mood instability, which is due to the fact that the excitability of the cerebral cortex decreases somewhat, and the excitability of the spinal cord and subcortical centers increases.

In the second trimester, most women's emotional background stabilizes.  This is due to the fact that during this period, the excitability of the cerebral cortex and subcortical centers has approximately the same level. At the same time, women may have a feeling of fatigue. I.V. Dobryakov writes that many women during this period complain of inattention, forgetfulness. Also at this stage, there is an acceptance of a new life – the restructuring of a woman's self-consciousness with the gradual inclusion of the image of a child in it. In most women, this period causes ambivalent emotions: joy associated with impending motherhood; anxiety against the background of somatic malaise (dizziness, swelling, heartburn, etc.). In order to promote the adoption of a child by a mother, increase self-confidence and reduce anxiety, according to I.V. Dobryakova ^[3], it is important to inform a woman about the development of the child (for example, in specially organized classes).

In the third trimester, the excitability of the cerebral cortex in a woman at the beginning of the third trimester increases and remains high until the 38-39 th week, after which it decreases. One of the features of the third trimester is a symptom of impatience. Women complain that they are tired of pregnancy, express their desire for a speedy delivery. At the same time, most women have an unstable emotional state (from joyful experiences to anxiety-depressive states), which is associated with uncertainty about the favorable outcome of childbirth. Against this background, the fear of childbirth may arise or increase. By the beginning of week 40, women have a decrease in the excitability of the cerebral cortex and an increase in the excitability of subcortical formations, as in the first trimester. Women become calmer, the need for rest and sleep increases. ^[3]

The emotional state of women after the birth of a child also has its own characteristics. According to I.V. Dobryakova ^[3], if the most comfortable conditions are created for a woman that contribute to physiological delivery, then the number and intensity of negative experiences and anxiety decreases both in the mother and in the child. Thus, it can be concluded about the importance of optimal organization of the labor process, psychological assistance to the woman in labor, timely and delicate informing the woman about upcoming manipulations and possible sensations associated with them.

If, for any reason, comfortable conditions were not created for women; if informing about the process of childbirth was untimely; under the influence of environmental characteristics; due to the peculiarities of the nature, temperament of women; with unfavorable delivery, postpartum depression may occur in women.

Postpartum depression occurs in women some time after childbirth and can be short-term (several days) or long-term (from several weeks, months or even years). This condition negatively affects a woman's health, motherhood. That is why timely diagnosis and treatment is extremely important for a woman and a child.

There are several causes of postpartum depression: physiological or hormonal; psychological, personal (new responsibilities due to the role of the mother, unconstructive styles of motherhood, accentuation of character, temperament, etc.); micro – macrosocial (relationships with close relatives, lack of support, conflict situations). Most often, the reasons are complex.

Pribytkov A.A. ^[10] writes about the relevance of the diagnosis of postpartum depression, since the frequency of depressive disorders in women after childbirth is 10-15%. According to a number of authors (Chernukha E.A., Solovyova A.D., Kochieva S.K., etc.) ^[14] this is due to the fact that childbirth is a stressful situation for a woman's body, as well as for the emotional state.

Concluding the review of key theoretical ideas, it can be concluded that in order to provide timely support to pregnant women during the period of adaptation to parenthood, timely diagnosis of the emotional state is necessary, tactful informing of the woman about the processes that occur with her. It can also be concluded about the relationship between the emotional state and life-meaning orientations, resilience, due to the fact that pregnancy and childbirth are crisis situations, anxiety in women increases, while the meaningfulness of life increases, and resilience decreases.

Materials and methods.

To study the emotional state, namely the level of anxiety, the method "Integrative anxiety Test" was used, created in 2005 at the Bekhterev NIPNI by Ph.D. A.P. Bizyuk, Ph.D. Professor L.I. Wasserman and Ph.D. B.V. Iovlev for general structural express diagnostics of anxiety and anxiety, including in the clinic of psychosomatic diseases. In this technique, 5 subscales are distinguished: Emotional discomfort, Asthenic component of anxiety, Phobic component of anxiety, Anxious assessment of prospects, Social protection reactions. ^{[5, 6]}

To study the value-semantic sphere, the methodology "Test of life orientations" by D. A. Leontiev was used. This technique allows us to obtain information about the degree of the subject's experience of the meaningfulness of his own life as an integral indicator of adaptation and psychological well-being, including components such as the presence of clear goals, satisfaction with the process of life and the result of self-realization in the past, the locus of control. Thus, the methodology includes 5 subscales: Goals in life, the Process of life, the Result of life, the Locus of control – I, the Locus of control – Life. ^[16]

To study resilience, the "Resilience Test" technique was used in the adaptation of D. A. Leontiev, E. I. Rasskazova. The technique allows you to diagnose a system of beliefs about yourself, the world, about relationships with the world that determine the effectiveness of overcoming difficult life situations. The indicators of the methodology are represented by a general indicator of resilience and three subscales: involvement (attitude to participate in events), control (attitude to be active in relation to life events) and risk taking (attitude towards difficult or new situations when the latter are considered both as challenges and as opportunities to gain new experience). ^[8]

Methods used:

• Theoretical analysis of the literature.

•              Psychological testing.

•              Interview, survey.

•              Methods of mathematical statistics (Wilcoxon's T-criterion, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient).

The study involved 22 women who are expecting a child, as well as in the postpartum period (1-4 months after the birth of the child).

The results of the study.

In the structure of anxiety in women (Figure 1), it is observed that before the birth of a child, women have low anxiety indicators on all scales. After the birth of the child, anxiety indicators increased on all scales (anxiety indicators became average on all scales, except for the "Anxious perspective assessment" scale - on this scale, anxiety indicators turned out to be high after the birth of the child).

Significant shifts were revealed on the scales of "Emotional discomfort" (Temp=17.5, p<0.01), "Asthenic component of anxiety" (Temp=11.5, p<0.01) and "Anxious perspective assessment" (Temp=18, p<0.01).

Figure 1 – Average values according to the method of "Integrative anxiety test" in women before and after the birth of a child

An increase in emotional tension, a decrease in the emotional background, may be associated with the adaptation of a woman to the role of a mother, to new responsibilities, to changes occurring in her relationships with other family members, her husband and close people. Anxiety about the future life may increase due to the feeling of some uncertainty about the future: a woman worries about how successfully she will cope with the responsibilities of caring for a child.

The analysis of the components of resilience in women showed (Figure 2) that before the birth of a child, women's indicators on all scales are average. After childbirth, the indicators decreased on all scales, but also remained average. No significant differences were found.

Figure 2 – Average values according to the "Resilience Test" method in women before and after the birth of a child

After the birth of the child, the overall index of vitality in women significantly decreased (Temp=14, p<0.01) (Figure 3).

Figure 3 – General indicator of resilience in women before and after childbirth

A significant decrease in the indicators of resilience and the overall level of resilience in women after childbirth may indicate that: on the one hand, women after the birth of a child undergo changes in the sphere of social contacts, narrowing the scope of opportunities, new responsibilities, on the other hand, the birth of a child marks a way out of a crisis, stressful situation and persistent coping with stress no longer required.

The analysis of life–meaning orientations in women showed (Figure 4) that after the birth of a child, women's values on the scales "Goals in life" and "Result of life" increased, indicators on the scales "Process of life" decreased (after childbirth, the indicator became low), "Locus of control - I", "Locus of control – Life".

Significant differences were identified on the scales of "Goals in life" (Temp=19.5, p<0.05), "Process of life" (Temp=17.5, p<0.01) and "Result of life" (Temp=18b p<0.01).

Figure 4 – Average values according to the method "Test of life orientations" in women before and after the birth of a child

After the birth of a child, the overall indicator of the meaningfulness of life in women significantly increased (Temp = 21.5, p<0.05) (Figure 5).

Figure 5 – General indicator of the meaningfulness of life in women before and after childbirth

After childbirth, women are more likely to evaluate the passed stage of life as productive and meaningful, which may be due to the perception of motherhood as one of the important life tasks. Women also tend to set goals for the future; women themselves note in conversation that they have new goals related to raising a child. Indicators on the "Process of life" scale have become low. Women perceive this stage of life to be not fully saturated, interesting, emotionally saturated, since most of their activities are focused on caring for a child.

As a result of the correlation analysis of anxiety with the components of the meaningfulness of life in women, it was revealed that:

- In the period before childbirth, anxiety directed to the future is negatively associated with the process of life and goals in life (Table 1). The greater the anxiety associated with the uncertainty of the future, the more difficult it seems to set goals for the future, the less intense and interesting life in the present seems.

Table 1 - Correlations between components of anxiety with life-meaning orientations in women (before the birth of a child) (p < 0.05)

- In the period after childbirth, anxiety associated with physical discomfort was negatively associated with the process of life and the meaningfulness of life (Table 2). The more a woman experiences physical discomfort, the more she is affected by physiological changes in the body (lack of sleep, breastfeeding, a certain diet, etc.), the less life seems saturated and interesting at the moment, the lower the meaningfulness of life as a whole.

- After childbirth, anxiety directed to the future is negatively related to the process of life. The higher the anxiety associated with the uncertainty of the future, the less interesting and intense life in the present seems.

- Also, after childbirth, emotional discomfort was negatively associated with the process of life (Table 2). The higher the dissatisfaction with the life situation, the emotional tension, the less intense, interesting and meaningful life in the present seems.

Table 2 - Correlations between components of anxiety with life-meaning orientations in women (after the birth of a child) (p < 0.05)

The analysis of correlations of anxiety with the components of resilience in women showed that in the period before childbirth in women, the components of anxiety are positively associated with risk-taking and resilience in general (Table 3): the higher the anxiety about the uncertainty of the future, the stronger the tendency to perceive any experience as positive. Women noted that at that time they wanted to believe that everything that happens to them is for the best, that any changes taking place in life will make her happier.

Table 3 - Correlations between components of anxiety and resilience in women (before the birth of a child) (p < 0.05)

Discussion of the results of the study.

Thanks to the results of the study , the following conclusions can be drawn:

1) The hypothesis that there is a relationship between the degree of meaningfulness of life and the emotional state of women during the expectation of a child and in the period after the birth of a child has been confirmed.

2) The hypothesis that there is a relationship between the indicators of resilience and the emotional state of women during the period of waiting for a child and in the period after the birth of a child has been partially confirmed. Fear of the future, self-doubt, fear of taking on a new role, as well as fears in the social sphere cannot allow women to fully feel their lives rich and interesting; it seems to them that they cannot control the events of their own lives and make decisions on their own.  

3) The hypothesis that the level of anxiety in women after childbirth is higher than the level of anxiety during pregnancy has been confirmed. In women, anxiety after childbirth increased on all scales. The increase in emotional tension can be explained by the fact that women adapt to a new role, to new responsibilities, to changes taking place in their relationships with family members, friends and other close people. Anxiety about the future life may also increase due to the feeling of uncertainty about the future: a woman does not yet know how her life will develop further: how their child will develop, how quickly she will be able to return to a more active life, whether she will successfully cope with the role and responsibilities of a parent.

The results obtained correlate with the conclusions of I.V. Dobryakova.. who came to the conclusion that anxiety in women increases in the postpartum period.

Also, the results of the study correlate with the results of the study of D.A. Leontiev on life-meaning orientations and resilience: due to crisis or stressful situations, the meaningfulness of life and resilience change.

At the same time, the following contradiction was revealed: in women after the birth of a child, the meaningfulness of life increases with a decrease in the indicators of vitality. On the one hand, the birth of a child and taking care of him is a new meaning that triggers the process of rethinking life. On the other hand, the birth of a child is a crisis situation, after which persistent coping with stress is no longer required.

Conclusions based on the results of the study.

1. It was revealed that the emotional state is associated with the characteristics of meaningfulness of life and resilience. After the birth of a child, some characteristics of the meaningfulness of life decrease (there is no feeling of saturation of life in the present), and some increase (there is a desire to set goals for the future and the already passed stage of life is evaluated as productive). 

2. The period of waiting for a child and the period of adaptation to parenthood is a special stage in a woman's life. Pregnancy and childbirth are special conditions of a woman's body (hormonal changes, rearrangement of metabolic processes, change in emotional state). Women have fears associated with childbirth, with interaction with other family members and returning to their usual way of life. 

3. Untimely and tactless informing women about the processes occurring with them, untimely diagnosis of emotional state are risk factors for postpartum depression.

Conclusion.

The relevance of this study is due to the fact that recently the number of emotional and affective disorders in women during pregnancy and after the birth of a child has increased. 

Pregnancy and childbirth is a crisis situation in which a woman is faced with a change in her status, with new responsibilities, with a new role, with the uncertainty of the future. That is why it is important to consider the role of life-meaning orientations and resilience in socio-psychological adaptation to parenthood. 

The aim of the study was to determine the role of life-meaning orientations in the process of adaptation to parenthood in women.

As a result of the study, it was revealed that the emotional state is associated with the meaningfulness of life, resilience. Anxiety after the birth of a child increased among women, which was caused by taking responsibility for the life and upbringing of the child, mastering a new role. Satisfaction with life in the present decreased, as women are focused on caring for a child and cannot devote time to their usual affairs. At the same time, after childbirth, women tend to evaluate the passed stage of life as productive and meaningful, which may be related to the perception of motherhood as one of the important life tasks. Also, women tend to set goals for the future (new goals are often associated with raising a child).