Support-Seeking Strategies, Family Communication Patterns, and Received Support Among Chinese Women with Postpartum Depression: A Content Analysis of Zhihu Posts

The incidence of postpartum depression (PPD) among Chinese women surpasses the global average, and this disparity is closely associated with the level of social support they receive. Using Sensitive Interaction Systems Theory and Family Communication Patterns Theory as guiding frameworks, we conducted a content analysis of 705 posts gathered from the hashtag #PPD (chanhou yiyu) on Zhihu, a popular Chinese social media platform. Our findings reveal that postpartum women primarily seek social support from their husbands and mothers-in-law through indirect nonverbal and direct verbal communication strategies. They tend to receive more problem-focused support than emotion-focused solace. Moreover, the use of direct verbal communication strategies promotes potential support providers' problem-solving behaviors, while the use of indirect nonverbal strategies elicits their avoidance behaviors. In addition, the conversation-oriented family communication pattern strengthens the positive association between direct verbal communication and support-providing behaviors, whereas the conformity-oriented family communication pattern weakens this relationship. This study contributes to the applicability of the abovementioned theories in the Chinese context and provides insights for future interventions aimed at addressing PPD among women.