The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Body Image and Severity of Anxiety and Depression in Pregnant Women

Pregnancy and being mother has been taken into account as an enjoyable and evolutionary event in the women's life, however, due to Physiological and Psychological changes; it can be associated with Anxiety and Depression. This study aimed to investigate the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Body Image and Severity of Anxiety and Depression in Pregnant Women. The research method was Non-Experimental and Correlational. The research population consisted of all pregnant women who were in their third trimester of pregnancy and referred to health centers of Tehran hospital for pregnancy care. A sample of 140 pregnant women was selected using convenience sampling from three Hospitals of Quds, Hedayat and Alghadir. To collect data, Neff Self-Compassion scale (2003), Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (1990), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (1987) and Body Image in Pregnancy Scale (2017) were used. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Hayes PROCESS procedure extension in Regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results of Pearson's correlation showed that Body image had a significant positive correlation with the severity of Anxiety and Depression and self-compassion had a significant negative correlation with body image, anxiety and depression (P<0.01). The results of Multiple Linear Regression confirmed the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between body image and the severity of anxiety and depression in pregnant women (R2=0/33, P<0.01). According to the finding, it's recommended to pay serious attention to increasing self-compassion and reducing body image dissatisfaction in health care planning to improve the mental health of pregnant women.