Pregnancy and the meta-mood experience: Differences on the Trait Meta-Mood Scale in pregnant and depressed wome

This study investigated the relationships between pregnancy, depression, and perceived emotional intelligence (PEI), as measured by the Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS). The TMMS subscales of Attention, Clarity, and Repair assess individuals' perceived ability to attend to, clearly identify, and regulate their moods. The TMMS was administered as part of this study to determine if women who are pregnant and have Major Depressive Disorder (PD) differ from pregnant, non-depressed (P) women and age matched non-pregnant depressed subjects (D) on the amount of attention they focus on their moods, their ability to distinguish among moods, and their use of negative mood repair. The results indicate that pregnant, non-depressed women scored highest on Attention, Clarity and Repair, while women who were in the non-pregnant depressed sample scored lowest on Clarity and Repair. Women in the pregnant, depressed sample scored higher than the depressed sample on all subscales and lower than the non-depressed, pregnant sample on Clarity and Repair, suggesting that pregnancy may positively influence perceived emotional intelligence.