The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of
pregnancy among coping strategies and positive and negative
affect in Pakistani women. The sample constituted of 200 married
women (100 pregnant women & 100 non-pregnant women) aged
between 20 to 40 years. The sample was selected through
purposive sampling technique based on the cross-sectional
research design. The married pregnant and non-pregnant women
were inquired at the Gynecology and Obstetrics department of
hospitals in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Taxila. Measures of
Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (Watson, Clark, &
Tellegen, 1988) and Brief Cope Scale (Carver, 1997) were used to
assess positive and negative emotions as well as coping strategies
among pregnant and non-pregnant married women, respectively.
Results showed that pregnancy was a partial moderator between
active avoidance coping, emotion focused coping, problem
focused coping, religious coping, and positive affect and negative
affect. The study recommended that pregnant women should be
facilitated by controlling the negative affect, especially the women
who were in their early adulthood as they had higher vulnerability
towards affect influences. It would be accommodating for health
and clinical settings to provide pregnant women with better
psychological well-being ensuring their health and the health of
their expected offspring.