Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women

Chiara Ionio; Giulia Ciuffo; Paul Christiansen; Anna M. Della Vedova; Victoria Fallon; Maria Francesca Figlino; Marta Landoni; Sergio A. Silverio; Martina Smorti; Alessandra Bramante

doi:10.3390/ejihpe14060107

Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women

Chiara Ionio^*, Giulia Ciuffo, Paul Christiansen, Anna M. Della Vedova, Victoria Fallon, Maria Francesca Figlino, Marta Landoni, Sergio A. Silverio, Martina Smorti, Alessandra Bramante

^*Corresponding author for this work

Women & Children's Health

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1614-1626
Number of pages	13
Journal	European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
Volume	14
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14060107
Publication status	Published - 4 Jun 2024

Keywords

Anxiety
Pregnancy
Maternal-fetal attachment
Postpartum bonding

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3390/ejihpe14060107Licence: CC BY

Ionio, Ciuffo, Christiansen, [...], Silverio, Smorti, Bramante (2024) - PSAS-IT and Maternal-Infant Bonding - EJIHPEFinal published version, 370 KBLicence: CC BY

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Ionio, C., Ciuffo, G., Christiansen, P., Della Vedova, A. M., Fallon, V., Figlino, M. F., Landoni, M., Silverio, S. A., Smorti, M., & Bramante, A. (2024). Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(6), 1614-1626. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14060107

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title = "Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women",

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.",

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author = "Chiara Ionio and Giulia Ciuffo and Paul Christiansen and {Della Vedova}, {Anna M.} and Victoria Fallon and Figlino, {Maria Francesca} and Marta Landoni and Silverio, {Sergio A.} and Martina Smorti and Alessandra Bramante",

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Ionio, C, Ciuffo, G, Christiansen, P, Della Vedova, AM, Fallon, V, Figlino, MF, Landoni, M, Silverio, SA, Smorti, M & Bramante, A 2024, 'Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women', European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1614-1626. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14060107

TY - JOUR

T1 - Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding

T2 - A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women

AU - Ionio, Chiara

AU - Ciuffo, Giulia

AU - Christiansen, Paul

AU - Della Vedova, Anna M.

AU - Fallon, Victoria

AU - Figlino, Maria Francesca

AU - Landoni, Marta

AU - Silverio, Sergio A.

AU - Smorti, Martina

AU - Bramante, Alessandra

PY - 2024/6/4

Y1 - 2024/6/4

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

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KW - Pregnancy

KW - Maternal-fetal attachment

KW - Postpartum bonding

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DO - 10.3390/ejihpe14060107

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JF - European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

IS - 6

ER -

Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal-infant bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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