A Comparative Study on the Effects of Positive Psychology and Stress Inoculation on Depression among Pregnant Women with Mitral Valve Prolapse

Background: The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of stress inoculation and positive psychology on depression in pregnant women with mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Methods: This research falls among semi-probationary plans, with pretesting and posttesting in 2 experimental groups, and follow-up. The statistical population of the study included all pregnant women with MVP referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2019. To form 3 groups, 45 people were first selected using purposeful sampling method (considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria). Then, 15 people were assigned to the first experimental group, 15 people were assigned to the second experimental group, and 15 people were assigned to the control group. The 3 groups were homogeneous and the dependent variable was measured in the experimental groups simultaneously. Moreover, the follow-up stage was performed on all 3 groups 3 months after the posttest. The research instrument was the Beck Depression Inventory (1989). Results: The collected data were analyzed using mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of data analysis showed that stress inoculation and positive psychology had a significant effect on reducing depression in pregnant women with MVP in the experimental groups compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the effects of stress inoculation and positive psychology on reducing depression were not different (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that immunization against stress and positive treatment have a significant effect on improving psychological well-being and depression in pregnant women with MVP. There was no significant difference between the methods of immunization against stress and positive treatment in terms of their effect on depression.