IntroductionIn perinatal research, concepts of depression and anxiety are frequently studied in relation to maternal and infant health outcome [1,2]. However, the possible impact of personality traits on health outcome is currently being overlooked. It is obvious that personality characteristics that may hamper a woman's adaptation process to biological and social ante-and postpartum changes, carry the risk of distress. The most common (3-8%) personality disorder in the general population [3][4][5][6][7] is Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), which became a diagnosable disorder after the publication of the first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders [8]. OCPD is characterized by the following eight personality traits: perfectionism, over-conscientiousness, preoccupation with details, miserliness, rigidity and stubbornness, excessive devotion to work and productivity, inability to discard worthless objects, and inability to delegate tasks [9].It is obvious that, in the light of the physiological and psychosocial changes inherent in pregnancy and postpartum, women with OCPD (symptoms) may be at risk for increased levels of distress. To the best of our knowledge, to date, no perinatal research has focused on the occurrence and implications of OCPD (symptoms) in pregnant and postpartum women. This can partly be explained by the absence of appropriate tools for assessing OCPD symptoms during pregnancy.Therefore, the aim of the current study was to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of user-friendly questionnaires in order to assess the symptoms of Perfectionism/OCPD during pregnancy. We hypothesized that the scores on these questionnaires correlate with depression (concurrent validity), and also that the scores on these scales will be able to differentiate between pregnant women with single and those with recurrent episodes of depression during gestation and/or earlier in life (discriminant validity).
Materials and Method ParticipantsAs part of the large Happy study [10], women who visited their independent community midwife at the first trimester during the first 12 months of the inclusion period (April 2013(April -2014 were invited to participate in the current study. At 12, 22 and 32 weeks of pregnancy, these women were asked to complete several questionnaires Abstract Background: Up until now, very little research has been undertaken on the possible role of personality traits, such as perfectionism and obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), on pregnancy distress. This is possibly due to the fact that no appropriate instruments are available for use during pregnancy. The current study was undertaken to develop self-rating instruments for assessing symptoms of OCPD (including perfectionism) during gestation, and to evaluate the relationship between high scores on these scales and (recurrent) depression.