Maternal attachment style and depression associated with childbirth: preliminary results from a European and US cross-cultural study

Abstract

Background: Insecure attachment style relates to major depression in women, but its relationship to depression associated with childbirth is largely unknown. A new UK-designed measure, the Attachment Style Interview (ASI), has potential for cross-cultural use as a risk marker for maternal disorder.

Aims: To establish there liability of the ASI across centres, its stability over a 9-month period, and its associations with social context and major or minor depression.

Method: The ASI was used by nine centres antenatally on 204 women, with 174 followed up 6 months postnatally. Interrater reliability was tested and the ASI was repeated on a subset of 96 women. Affective disorder was assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV.

Results: Satisfactory interrater reliability was achieved with relatively high stability rates at follow-up. Insecure attachment related to lower social class position and more negative social context. Specific associations of avoidant attachment style (angry-dismissive or withdrawn) with antenatal disorder, and anxious style (enmeshed or fearful) with postnatal disorder were found.

Conclusions: The ASI can be used reliably in European and US centres as a measure for risk associated with childbirth. Its use will contribute to theoretically under pinned preventive action for disorders associated with childbirth.