Postpartum bonding: the impact of maternal depression and adult attachment style.

Maternal depression poses a risk for the developing mother-infant relationship. Similarly, maternal insecure attachment styles may limit the ability to adequately connect with the newborn during the postpartum period. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal depression and insecure attachment (insecure and dual/disorganized) on maternal bonding in a sample of n = 34 women with depression according to DSM-IV and n = 59 healthy women. Maternal depression was assessed 3 to 4 months postpartum with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), bonding with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire, and maternal attachment style with the Attachment Style Interview. Women with current and lifetime depression as well as women with dual/disorganized attachment style reported lower bonding. Explorative analysis revealed that depression partially mediated the link between dual/disorganized attachment style and bonding with a medium-sized mediation effect. The combination of maternal depression and dual/disorganized attachment style may pose a special risk constellation for the developing mother-infant bond that should be addressed in prevention and early intervention programs.

[Impact of attachment behavior on chronic and somatoform pain]. / Einfluss des Bindungsverhaltens auf chronischen und somatoformen Schmerz.

In addition to being a risk factor for the course of chronic pain, the personality characteristics of the individual attachment style are also predictors for the success of medical and psychosocial interventions and aspects of the physician-patient relationship. Insecurely attached patients seem to be less able to sustain the positive effects of pain therapy. These results are especially relevant as insecure attachment patterns are overrepresented among chronic pain patients. As a result the attachment style can be seen as a psychosocial vulnerability factor for the chronification of acute pain.

Chilean validation of the operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis-structure questionnaire (OPD-SQ) for personality structure.

BACKGROUND: This is the validation of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis-Structure Questionnaire (OPD-SQ). METHODS: A clinical sample of 399 adults and a nonclinical general population sample of 50 healthy adults completed measures of depression, attachment, psychiatric symptomatology and distress. Internal consistency and concurrent validity were assessed. Test-retest and Reliable Change Index were also calculated, as was the ability of the OPD-SQ to distinguish between the clinical and general population groups. RESULTS: High internal consistencies were found; significant differences between clinical and nonclinical samples, and significant associations with psychiatric symptomatology, depression and psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The Chilean OPD-SQ has good reliability, and discriminates between clinical and healthy samples.