During the second half of the twentieth century, the medical approach has taken the lead in the field of perinatality, over the interest for the community and social determinants of maternal mental health. According to the community model of mental health, social resources should be preferred to medical and professional interventions, as they promote the sustainability of mental health positive outcomes, by the autonomy offered to the community itself. This doctoral thesis aims at identifying the impact of the multiple dimensions of social support (emotional, practical, financial, guidance, socialization, positive feed-back) on mental health outcomes and more specifically on the prevention of postnatal depression. Using a social psychology of health methodology, 80 women have been recruited within a mental health promotion research. They have been evaluated on their social networks, received social support and perceived social support on each of the six dimensions of social support. The data analysis points out that common links reported between social support and mental health can't be found in this high-risk sample. The discussion focuses on research and intervention models for high psychosocial risk populations. Suggestions are made for improving community psychology actions
