Postpartum-Specific Anxiety and Maternal–Infant Bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Postpartum-Specific Anxiety and Maternal–Infant Bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women

Published:2024-06-04 Issue:6 Volume:14 Page:1614-1626
ISSN:2254-9625
Container-title:European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
language:en
Short-container-title:EJIHPE

Author:

Ionio Chiara¹^ORCID,Ciuffo Giulia¹^ORCID,Christiansen Paul²,Della Vedova Anna Maria³^ORCID,Fallon Victoria²,Figlino Maria Francesca⁴,Landoni Marta⁵^ORCID,Silverio Sergio A.²⁶^ORCID,Smorti Martina⁷^ORCID,Bramante Alessandra⁸

Affiliation:

1. CRIdee, Unità di Ricerca sul Trauma, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Facoltà di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy

2. Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GF, UK

3. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e Sperimentali, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università Degli Studi di Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy

4. Dipartimento di Psicologia, Facoltà di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy

5. CRIdee, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Facoltà di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy

6. Department of Women & Children’s Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK

7. Dipartimento di Patologia Chirurgica, Medica, Molecolare e dell’Area Critica, Università di Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy

8. Policentro Donna, 20123 Milan, Italy

Abstract

The role of anxiety is unknown in relation to postpartum bonding, unlike the well-known detrimental effect that postpartum depression has on the relationship between a mother and child. This study investigates how anxiety affects mother–infant bonding after childbirth, comparing the Italian version of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS-IT) with generalized measures of anxiety. Examining 324 non-randomly-selected participants responding to various scales, including the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), postpartum-specific anxiety scale (PSAS-IT), postpartum bonding questionnaire (PBQ), and baby care questionnaire (BCQ-2), initial results suggest a link between certain postpartum anxiety symptoms and attachment problems. Surprisingly, anxiety measured with the PSAS has no direct influence on attachment; however, it is a strong predictor of bonding, even when maternal age, general anxiety, and depression are taken into account, explaining 3% of the variance in scores (β = 0.26, p < 0.001). This emphasizes the importance of early identification and intervention of postpartum anxiety in promoting bonding between mother and child.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/14/6/107/pdf

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