arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Predictors of postpartum depressive symptoms among young mothers in rural Limpopo Province, South Africa

M Muchemwa et al.

South African Journal of Psychology2026https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463261429425article
AJG 1
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

The study examined the predictors of postpartum depressive symptoms among young mothers in rural Limpopo province in South Africa. Cross-sectional data of adolescents and young mothers aged 16 to 24 years from the DIMAMO Population Health Research Centre were used. The centre operates as a rural site of the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network’s Health and Demographic Surveillance System. A multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of postpartum depressive symptoms among young mothers in rural Limpopo. Postpartum depressive symptoms were experienced by 39.83% of the young mothers. Mothers from food-insecure households were more likely to experience postpartum depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio = 2.59; confidence interval = 1.33–5.07; p = .005) compared to those from food-secure households. HIV-positive mothers were more likely to experience postpartum depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio = 9.34; confidence interval = 1.56–55.72; p = .014) compared to those who are HIV-negative. Meanwhile, receiving financial support from the partner (adjusted odds ratio = 0.37; confidence interval = 0.20–0.70; p = .002) and a planned pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio = 0.19; confidence interval = 0.08–0.51; p = .001) reduced the likelihood of experiencing postpartum depressive symptoms. These findings highlighted the need for policies that address food security, integrate mental health care into HIV services, strengthen family planning education, and promote partner support among young mothers in rural South Africa.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463261429425

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{m2026,
  title        = {{Predictors of postpartum depressive symptoms among young mothers in rural Limpopo Province, South Africa}},
  author       = {M Muchemwa et al.},
  journal      = {South African Journal of Psychology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463261429425},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Predictors of postpartum depressive symptoms among young mothers in rural Limpopo Province, South Africa

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.