Social support and Maternal-Fetal attachment in unmarried pregnant women in Korea: Does Self-Esteem play a mediating role?

This study examined the association between social support and maternal-fetal attachment and explored the mediating effect of self-esteem on this relationship in unmarried pregnant women in Korea. Data were collected from 105 unmarried, pregnant, Korean women who were residents of 15 welfare facilities. Social support, self-esteem, and maternal-fetal attachment were assessed using structured questionnaires. The mediating effect of self-esteem was analyzed using linear regressions and a Sobel test. Self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between social support and maternal-fetal attachment. Results from this study suggest that interventions focusing on both social support and self-esteem might be more useful for increasing maternal-fetal attachment in this population than interventions that only target either social support or self-esteem.