Potential profile analysis of stress and self-efficacy in pregnant women

Background Although many studies have focused on maternal stress and its impact on pregnancy outcomes, relatively few studies have been conducted on the relationship between stress and self-efficacy in pregnant women. Systematic analyses of the distributional characteristics of different groups of pregnant women across the dimensions of stress and self-efficacy are lacking. This study aims to explore the potential categories of maternal pregnancy stress and self-efficacy via latent profile analysis and to analyse the heterogeneity of maternal pregnancy stress and self-efficacy and the factors influencing them. Methods A convenience sampling method was adopted to survey 4033 pregnant women who underwent maternity check-ups in a tertiary hospital in Urumqi, Xinjiang, from January 2020 to January 2024. Using pregnancy stress and self-efficacy as exogenous indicators, latent profile analysis was used to determine the optimal subgroup type; logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of each category. Results Pregnant women's pregnancy stress and self-efficacy were classified into 3 potential categories: high-risk group (C1, 8.9%), moderately adapted group (C2, 25.1%), and well-adapted group (C3, 66.0%). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that pregnant women's smoking history (OR = 2.187, 95% CI: 1.295 ~ 3.693), sleep (OR = 0.778, 95% CI: 0.642 ~ 0.942), gestational age (OR = 0.511, 95% CI: 0.329 ~ 0.793), history of induced abortion (OR = 0.729, 95% CI: 0.601 ~ 0.883), history of contraception (OR = 0.027, 95% CI: 1.024 ~ 1.461), knowledge of pregnancy (OR = 0.482, 95% CI: 0.260 ~ 0,895), anxiety (OR = 0.774, 95% CI: 0.747 ~ 0.802), depression (OR = 0.769, 95% CI: 0.737 ~ 0.803), psychological resilience (OR = 1.007, 95% CI: 1.002 ~ 1.012), and social support factors (OR = 1.017, 95% CI: 1.009 ~ 1.025) were the factors influencing the heterogeneity of pregnant women's pregnancy stress and self-efficacy. Conclusions Pregnant women's pregnancy stress and self-efficacy have prominent categorical characteristics, with the "well-adjusted group" predominating. According to the different categories and characteristics of pregnant women, healthcare professionals should carry out targeted interventions to reduce the level of pregnancy stress, improve the self-efficacy of pregnant women, and promote their psychological health.