Longitudinal effects of dysfunctional perfectionism and avoidant personality style on postpartum mental disorders: Pathways through antepartum depression and anxiety

Oddo-Sommerfeld, S; Hain, Sarah; Louwen, Frank; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2015.11.040

Cited by 39 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…This idea that normalising women's experience of motherhood can lead to reduced PNA, maps onto previous research that has emphasised the role of appreciating shared human experience in reducing distress (39,43), and is in line with work that has linked perfectionism and unattainable high standards to postnatal anxiety and distress (83,84). Furthermore, the importance of peer voices could potentially be couched in terms of Smith's theoretical model of the relational self (85) which suggests the transition to motherhood involves the negotiation and emergence of a new identity (e.g.…”

Section: Peer Voices: 'Experts By Experience'supporting

confidence: 67%

Supporting perinatal anxiety in the digital age; A qualitative exploration of stressors and support strategies.

Harrison

Moore

2020

Preprint

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Background: The period surrounding childbirth is one of profound change, which can often be experienced as stressful and overwhelming. Indeed, around 20% of women may experience significant levels of anxiety in the perinatal period. However, most women experiencing perinatal anxiety (PNA) go unrecognised and untreated. The Internet offers a potentially scalable solution to improve access to support, however a dearth of research in this area means that work is needed to better understand women’s experience of PNA, so that potential targets for intervention can be identified and possible barriers to support overcome. This study aimed to qualitatively explore women’s experience of anxiety triggers and support in the perinatal period; and gain insight into what online support is acceptable for women with PNA. Methods: Women who were either pregnant or within one-year post-partum were invited to participate in focus groups across the UK. Focus groups were used to allow a diversity of perspectives to be heard, while simultaneously promoting the identification and prioritisation of important support needs and solutions. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed.Results: Five key themes emerged in relation to women’s experience with PNA: holding unrealistic expectations of birth and motherhood; stigma; the importance of peer support; uncertainty and poor maternal confidence; and a lack of mental health support and knowledge. Perinatal women felt under-supported and poorly prepared for motherhood. A mismatch between their expectations and the reality of their experience, alongside a pressure to be the ‘perfect mum’ was the primary source of their anxiety. Furthermore, stigma associated with PNA may have exacerbated these issues and led to help-seeking avoidance. Overall, women felt these issues could be addressed via online support, through the delivery of more realistic information, providing psychoeducation about PNA symptoms and management, and the inclusion of authentic peer experiences. Thus, delivering evidence-based information and interventions online may provide a solution that is acceptable to this cohort. Conclusions: This work provides unique insight into potential sources of anxiety for women in the perinatal period, while also offering potential internet-based support solutions that are likely to be acceptable and helpful for women with PNA.

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Section: Peer Voices: 'Experts By Experience'supporting

confidence: 67%

Supporting perinatal anxiety in the digital age; A qualitative exploration of stressors and support strategies.

Harrison

Moore

2020

Preprint

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“…Conversely, only a minority of studies has focused on the role of precipitating personality traits on bonding problems (e.g., Oddo‐Sommerfeld, Hain, Louwen, & Schermelleh‐Engel, ; Ohashi et al., ). A key personality trait, with relevance to the construct of bonding, is adult attachment styles.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Postpartum Bonding Difficulties and Adult Attachment Styles: The Mediating Role of Postpartum Depression and Childbirth‐related PTSD

Hairston

Handelzalts

Assis

et al. 2018

Infant Mental Health Journal

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Despite decades of research demonstrating the role of adult attachment styles and early mother-infant bonding in parenting behaviors and maternal mental health, these constructs have seldom been studied together. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and specific bonding difficulties of mothers. In addition, as postpartum depression and childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms have been associated with both constructs, we explored their possible mediation effect. One hundred fourteen mothers, 4 to 12 weeks' postpartum, completed a demographic questionnaire, the Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire (M. Mikulincer, V. Florian, & A. Tolmacz, 1990), the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (L.F. Brockington, C. Fraser, & D. Wilson, 2006), the Modified Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (J.L. Callahan, S.E. Borja, & M.T. Hynan, 2006), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (J.L. Cox, G. Chapman, D. Murray, & P. Jones, 1996), using an online survey system. As predicted, insecure attachment styles were associated with bonding difficulties wherein anxious/ambivalent attachment was associated with greater infant-focused anxiety, mediated by postpartum depression but not childbirth-related PTSD symptoms. In contrast, greater avoidant attachment style was associated with greater rejection and anger, mediated by childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not depression symptoms. The current study confirmed the association of different attachment styles with bonding as well as the mediating roles of childbirth-related PTSD and postpartum depression symptoms. Future psychological interventions may utilize such evidence to target interventions for bonding disorders in accordance with individual differences.

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“…Maladaptive perfectionism is significantly associated with worry, fatigue, pessimism, reduced performance, and lack of perceived self-control; these findings correspond to characteristics of those exhibiting procrastinatory behavior [16,20,23,30,49]. Also, perfectionists are known to have unreasonable beliefs and extreme fear of failure; this fear encourages them to exhibit procrastinatory behavior in important situations, so as to decrease their anxiety [21,50,51].…”

Section: -Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Perfectionism is another psychological variable that exhibits a significant relationship with procrastination [45][46][47][48]. Perfectionism is, indeed, a personality construct characterized with such traits as attempting toward being complete and perfect, setting extreme performance criteria, and tendency toward critical evaluation [49][50][51]. Based on the Hamachek's (1978) classification of perfectionism into normal and abnormal and within the framework of a theoretical model, Terry-Short, Glynn Owens, Slade, and Dewey (1995) distinguished between two types of perfectionism, namely positive and negative perfectionism.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the other end of the spectrum, negative perfectionism involves those aspects of perfectionism which are related to unrealistically high standard levels, worries about mistakes, sense of conflict between expectations and achievement, and critical evaluation of self-performance [51,53,57]. This dimension of perfectionism is known to be correlated to indicators of conflict, such as anxiety [49], depression [58], and negative affect [59].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of Self-Efficacy and Negative Perfectionism in the Prediction of Procrastination of Narcissistic Personality: A Study on Non-Clinical Subjects

2018

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The present research was performed to investigate the role of self-efficacy and negative perfectionism in the prediction of procrastination of narcissistic personality. This is a descriptive research of correlational type for which performance a total of 412 students were selected via random multi-stage sampling method. In order to examine the research hypothesis and accomplish the research objective, the participants were provided with a questionnaire composed of Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16, General Procrastination Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale. Collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. Results of the research indicated significant associations between self-efficacy, negative perfectionism, and narcissism, in one hand, and procrastination, on the other hand, so that, as variables, self-efficacy, negative perfectionism, and narcissism could explain 10% of the variance in procrastination. Results of the present research indicated the importance of self-efficacy, negative perfectionism, and narcissism in the development and exacerbation of procrastination, and placed an emphasis on the necessity of paying attention to the role of such effective antecedents by mental health-related authorities, so as to reduce procrastination.

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Longitudinal effects of dysfunctional perfectionism and avoidant personality style on postpartum mental disorders: Pathways through antepartum depression and anxiety

Cited by 39 publications

References 63 publications

Supporting perinatal anxiety in the digital age; A qualitative exploration of stressors and support strategies.

Supporting perinatal anxiety in the digital age; A qualitative exploration of stressors and support strategies.

Postpartum Bonding Difficulties and Adult Attachment Styles: The Mediating Role of Postpartum Depression and Childbirth‐related PTSD

Role of Self-Efficacy and Negative Perfectionism in the Prediction of Procrastination of Narcissistic Personality: A Study on Non-Clinical Subjects

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