The prediction of postpartum depression: The role of the PRECEDE model and health locus of control

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the PRECEDE model and health locus of control (HLC) on postpartum depression. This study used the path analysis to test the pattern of causal relations through the correlation coefficients. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The participants included 230 pregnant women in the north-east of Iran who were selected by convenience sampling. To analyze data, Pearson correlation and path analysis were applied to examine the relationships between variables using SPSS 20 and LISREL 8.50software. RESULTS: The result of path analysis showed that a positive correlation exists between predisposing (knowledge, internal HLC, powerful others HLC, chance HLC) enabling and reinforcing factors with postpartum depression by GHQ score (GFI = 1, RSMEA = 000). CONCLUSION: The current study supported the application of the PRECEDE model and HLC in understanding the promoting behaviors in mental health and demonstrated their relationships with postpartum depression.