Attachment style in mothers and fathers and post-partum depressionN

Aim of the study The study aimed to investigate the relationship between adult attachment style (AS) in mothers and fathers and post-partum depression (PPD). Methods Study sample was made of 31 women (mean age 32; SD = 5.41 yrs) and relative partners. Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPSD) were administered to women within 48 hours from delivery. Contemporarily RQ was administered to partners. EPSD was then administered to women 4 months later. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way repeated measures ANOVA using women ASs as independent variables as reported by RQ (insecure vs secure) and EPDS scores in both times as dependent variable. A two channels ANOVA with repeated measures using partners ASs as reported by RQ (secure and insecure) as independent variable and women EPSD 48 hours and 4 months scores as dependent variable was performed Results There was a significant effect of strength (Table 1) of insecure attachment (F (2.28)=6.94). Post-hoc comparisons using the Fisher LSD test (Table 2) revealed that the difference between women with 48 hours secure attachment vs women with 48 hours insecure attachment was significant (M=7.59 vs M=12.75; p< .05); the difference between women with 4 months secure attachment vs women with 4 months insecure attachment was highly significant (M=6.00 vs M=12.75; p< .001). In other words secure attachment seems to be protective compared to insecure attachment and this effect increases with time. In the partner sample the influence on EPSD of the time and group variables were not significant. Post-hoc comparisons using LSD test revealed that the differences between secure (p=.02) and preoccupied (p=.02) attachment vs dismissing were significant (Table 3). Discussion This study confirms that mother insecure attachment is strongly correlated with the onset of PPD. Partner AS was not a risk factor for PPD considering either the whole insecure styles or each single insecure attachment style. On the other hand, the post hoc analysis showed a significant protective effect of secure and preoccupied AS over dismissing attachment in the development of 4 months PPD. In conclusion, this study suggests that furher research based on AS may be a fruitful approach to understanding the developmental pathways leading to PPD.