Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume 84, Issue 1 , Pages 15-24 , January 2005

Psychological factors associated with persistent postnatal depression: past and current relationships, defence styles and the mediating role of insecure attachment style

  • Catherine McMahon

      Affiliations

    • Psychology Department, Macquarie University, North Ryde 2109, NSW, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author.
    • ,
  • Bryanne Barnett

      Affiliations

    • Perinatal Psychiatry, South Western Sydney Area Health Service, Liverpool 2170, Australia
    • ,
  • Nicholas Kowalenko

      Affiliations

    • Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards 2067, Australia
    • ,
  • Christopher Tennant

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Sydney Northern Clinical School, St Leonards 2067, Australia

Received 17 December 2003 ,Revised 13 May 2004 ,Accepted 20 May 2004.

References 

  1. Akkerman K, Lewin T, Carr V. Long-term changes in defence styles among patients recovering from major depression. J. of Nerv. Ment. Dis. 1999;187:80–87
  2. Alexander R, Feeney J, Noller P. Attachment style and coping resources as predictors of coping strategies in the transition to parenthood. Pers. Relatsh. 2001;8:137–152
  3. Andrews G, Singh M, Bond M. The Defence Style Questionnaire. [Journal Article] J. of Nerv. Ment. Dis. 1993;18:246–256
  4. Beck C. Predictors of postpartum depression: an update. Nurs. Res. 2001;50:275–285
  5. Bifulco A, Brown G, Harris T. Childhood experiences of care and abuse (CECA): a retrospective interview Measure. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry. 1994;35:1419–1435
  6. Bifulco A, Figueirido B, Guedenay N, Gorman S, Hayes M, Muzik E, et al. Maternal attachment style and depression associated with childbirth: preliminary results from a European and US cross-cultural study. Br. J. Psychiatry. 2004;184(Suppl. 46):S31–S37
  7. Bloch A, Shear K, Markowitz J, Leon A, Perry C. An empirical study of defence mechanisms in dysthymia. Am. J. Psychiatry. 1993;150:1194–1198
  8. Boyce P, Mason C. An overview of depression prone personality traits and the role of interpersonal sensitivity. Aust. N. Z. J. Psychiatry. 1996;30:90–103
  9. Boyce P, Hickey I, Parker G. Parents, partners or personality? Risk factors for postnatal depression. J. Affect. Disord. 1991;21:245–255
  10. Brennan P, Hammen C, Anderson M, Bor W, Najman J, Williams G. Chronicity, severity and timing of maternal depressive symptoms: relationships with child outcomes at age 5. Dev. Psychol. 2000;36:759–766
  11. Brown G, Harris T, Hepworth C, Robinson R. Clinical and psychosocial origins of chronic depressive episodes: II. Patient enquiry. Br. J. Psychiatry. 1994;165:457–465
  12. Campbell S, Cohn J. The timing and chronicity of postpartum depression: implications for infant development. In:  Murray L,  Cooper P editor. Postpartum Depression and Child Development. New York and London: The Guildford Press; 1997;p. 165–197
  13. Cicchetti D, Rogosch F, Toth S. Maternal depressive disorder and contextual risk: contributions to the development of attachment insecurity and behaviour problems in toddlerhood. Dev. Psychopathol. 1998;10:283–300
  14. Cooper PJ, Murray L, Stein A. Postnatal depression. In:  Seva A editors. European Handbook of Psychiatry and Mental Health. Barcelona: Anthropos; 1991;p. 1255–1262
  15. Cox J, Holden J, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item postnatal depression scale. Psychiatry. 1987;150:782–786
  16. Coyne JC. Toward an interactional description of depression. Psychiatry. 1976;39:14–27
  17. Crockenberg S, Leerkes E. Parental acceptance, postpartum depression and maternal sensitivity: mediating and moderating processes. J. Fam. Psychol. 2003;17:80–93
  18. Da Costa D, Larouche J, Dritsa M, Brender W. Psychosocial correlates of prepartum and postpartum depressed mood. J. Affect. Disord. 2000;59:31–40
  19. Demyttenaere K, Lenaerts H, Nijs P, Van Assche FA. Individual coping style and psychological attitude during pregnancy predict depression levels during pregnancy and during postpartum. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 1995;91:95–102
  20. Downey G, Coyne J. Children of depressed parents: an integrative review. Psychol. Bull. 1990;108:50–76
  21. Enns M, Cox B, Larsen D. Perceptions of parental bonding and symptom severity in adults with depression: mediation by personality dimensions. Can. J. Psychiatry. 2000;45:263–268
  22. Feeney J. Adult attachment, emotional control and marital satisfaction. Pers. Relatsh. 1999;6:169–185
  23. Feeney JA, Noller P, Hanrahan M. Assessing adult attachment: developments in the conceptualization of security and insecurity. In:  Sperling MB,  Berman WH editor. Attachment in Adults: Theory, Assessment and Treatment. New York: The Guildford Press; 1994;p. 128–152
  24. Field T. Infants of depressed mothers. Dev. Psychopathol. 1992;3:227–242
  25. Fontaine K, Jones L. Self-esteem, optimism and postpartum depression. J. Clin. Psychol. 1997;53:59–63
  26. George, C., Kaplan, N., Main, M., 1985. An adult attachment interview. Unpublished manuscript, University of California at Berkeley.
  27. Gotlib I, Whiffen V, Wallace P, et al. Prospective investigation of postpartum depression: factors involved in onset and recovery. J. Abnorm. Psychology. 1991;100:122–132
  28. Kurstjens S, Wolke D. Effects of maternal depression on cognitive development of children over the first 7 years of life. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry. 2001;42:623–636
  29. Lara M, Klein D. Psychosocial processes underlying the maintenance and persistence of depression: implications for understanding chronic depression. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 1999;19:553–570
  30. Matthey S, Barnett B, Ungerer J, Waters B. Paternal and maternal depressed mood during the transition to parenthood. J. Affect. Disord. 2000;60:75–85
  31. McLennan J, Kotelchuck M, Cho H. Prevalence, persistence and correlates of depressive symptoms in a national sample of mothers and toddlers. J. Am. Acad. Child Psych. 2001;40:1316–1323
  32. Mikulincer M, Florian V. The relationship between adult attachment styles and emotional and cognitive reactions to stressful events. In:  Simpson JA,  Rholes WS editor. Attachment Theory and Close Relationships. New York: The Guildford Press; 1998;p. 143–165
  33. O'Hara M. Psychotherapy for postpartum depression: are the effects enduring?. In: Plenary Session at The Marce Society International Biennial Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia. 2002;
  34. O'Hara M, Swain A. Rates and risk of postpartum depression: a meta-analysis. Int. Rev. Psychiatry. 1996;8:37–54
  35. Parker G. Parental reports of depressives. An investigation of several explanations. J. Affect. Disord. 1981;3:131–140
  36. Parker G. Parental ‘affectionless control’ as an antecedent to adult depression. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1983;40:956–960
  37. Parker G, Tupling H, Brown L. A parental bonding instrument. Br. J. Med. Psychol. 1979;52:1–10
  38. Priel B, Besser A. Vulnerability to postpartum depressive symptomatology: dependency, self-criticism and the moderating role of antenatal attachment. J. Soc. Clin. Psychol. 1999;18:240–253
  39. Radloff L. The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl. Psychol. Meas. 1977;1:385–401
  40. Shaver P, Mikulincer M. Dialogue on adult attachment: diversity and integration. Attach. Hum. Dev. 2002;4:243–257
  41. Spanier GB. Measuring dyadic adjustment: new scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. J. Marriage Fam. 1976;38:15–38
  42. Spielman, S., 2000. Barriers to care for women with postnatal depression. Unpublished manuscript submitted to the Royal College of Australian and New Zealand Psychiatrists.
  43. Spinhoven P, Kooiman C. Defence stye in depressed and anxious psychiatric outpatients: an exploratory study. J. of Nerv. Ment. Dis. 1997;185:87–94
  44. Stein H, Jacobs N, Ferguson K, Allen J, Fonagy P. What do adult attachment scales measure?. Bull. Menninger Clin. 1998;62:33–82
  45. Terry DJ, Mayocchi L, Hynes GJ. Depressive symptomatology in new mothers: a stress and coping perspective. J. Abnorm. Psychology. 1996;105:220–231
  46. West M, Rose S, Spreng S, Verhoef M, Bergman J. Anxious attachment and severity of depressive symptomatology in women. Women Health. 1999;29:47–56
  47. World Health Organisation. Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Geneva: World Health Organisation; 1997;

PII: S0165-0327(04)00180-6

doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2004.05.005

Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume 84, Issue 1 , Pages 15-24 , January 2005

Article Tools