ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP OF CULTURAL VALUES, AND NEIGHBORHOOD FACTORS IN PRENATAL DEPRESSION AMONGST MEXICAN WOMEN

Maternal depression during the perinatal period is a debilitating illness which negatively influences maternal health, child development and family functioning. The rate of maternal depression in Mexican-American mothers is substantially higher than non-Hispanic white populations. Some work has linked maternal depression in the US Mexican population to cultural factors and neighborhood dynamics, but these factors are only beginning to be addressed in perinatal mental health. This study investigates the independent and interactive roles of cultural values and neighborhood factors in predicting perinatal maternal depressive symptoms in women of Mexican descent. The study recruited pregnant women (N= 261) of Mexican descent in Southern California. Depressive symptoms were measured at early, mid and late pregnancy (15-17, 25-27 and 33-35 weeks’ gestation; respectively), using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Cultural values (familismo and respeto) were assessed in early pregnancy using the Mexican American Cultural Values Scales (MACVS). Neighborhood factors, including systemic neighborhood factors (Area Deprivation Index—ADI), perceived neighborhood quality (Neighborhood Quality Evaluation Scale—NQES), and social cohesion (Neighborhood Environment Questionnaire—NEQ), were evaluated at mid-pregnancy. Linear mixed-effects models analyzed the effect of cultural values and neighborhood factors on depressive symptom trajectories over pregnancy, and moderation analyses tested the interaction effects of cultural values and neighborhood factors on depressive symptoms during mid-pregnancy. The findings showed that higher adherence to the cultural value of respeto was significantly associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms across pregnancy. While familismo alone did not have a significant main effect on depressive symptoms, it moderated the relationship between perceived sense of safety and depressive symptoms during mid-pregnancy, such that lower perceived safety significantly predicted higher depressive symptoms at mean and high levels of familismo. Furthermore, individual perceptions of lower sense of safety and lower social cohesion were associated with increased depressive symptoms over pregnancy, but the systemic measure of neighborhood disadvantage (ADI) did not significantly predict the trajectory of depressive symptoms. The study highlights the importance of cultural values and individual perceptions of the neighborhood environment in understanding perinatal depression among women of Mexican descent.