Changing Perceptions of Blame: Using a Social Psychological Framework to Increase Help for Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a widespread phenomenon affecting women worldwide.  This set of three studies assessed a potential means of increasing the provision of help to women with PPD.  Guided by attribution theory, it was hypothesized that people would be more willing to provide social support to a woman with PPD if the onset and recovery of the illness was not seen as under her control.  Study 1 (N = 117, 54.7% male, M_age = 35.15, 84.6% Caucasian) assessed whether participants who perceived PPD was due to internal causes also reported less sympathy, and more anger, toward a woman with PPD and if affect was associated with less willingness to provide social support.  Studies 2 (N = 152, M_age = 33.36, 78.90% Caucasian) and 3 (N = 322, 58.10% female, M_age = 37.34, 81.40%, Caucasian) utilized different experimental manipulations to investigate whether changing perceptions of controllability caused changes in affect and willingness to help.  Study 2 accomplished this through the use of a written prompt, while Study 3 examined the usefulness of this approach in a preventative setting through the use of public service announcements.  Affect overall mediated the relationship between controllability and willingness to provide social support (WPSS) for a woman with PPD in study 1, with sympathy leading to increased WPSS and anger leading to less WPSS.  In study 2, affect (anger [-.35, -.06], sympathy [-.54, -.17]) mediated the relationship between condition (at fault, not at fault) and WPSS.  Further, sympathy [-.52, -.08] significantly mediated the relationship between condition and social support outcome expectations (SSOEs).  In study 3, anger significantly mediated the relationship between condition (viewing a PSA, control) and WWPS [.02, .15], as well as SSOEs [.02, .19].  Results indicated that changing perceived culpability influenced affect, which then influenced willingness to provide social support as well as social support outcome expectations.  Three different studies (one cross-section and two experimental) indicate that: 1) attribution theory is generalizable to the PPD domain, 2) that people who think loved ones are to blame for their PPD report greater anger than those who do not, 3) that affect toward a loved one with PPD predicts the social support, and 4) a campaign focused on changing perceptions of culpability could increase the provision of social support to woman with PPD.