Date of Award

8-20-2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Alan R. King

Abstract

A large body of evidence suggests interpersonal environments of women with postpartum depression are impaired. However, it is unclear whether postpartum anxiety is associated with similar psychosocial impairment, particularly relating to parental and relationship functioning. Many studies examining postpartum anxiety have been cross-sectional in nature rendering it difficult to make long-term predictions about functioning of anxious mothers and their families. The present study was one of few longitudinal studies examining the relation between postpartum anxiety and long-term psychosocial functioning. Mothers reporting significant anxiety (n = 20) and mothers denying significant anxiety and depression (i.e., control mothers; n = 35) at eight weeks postpartum completed a diagnostic interview and self-report inventories of personal, child, and parental relationship functioning at 40 months postpartum. Fathers (n = 35) also completed a child functioning inventory. Women with postpartum anxiety were expected to report greater levels of long-term disruption in personal, child, and family functioning compared to control women. Results supported a trend toward children of anxious mothers being more behaviorally inhibited at 40 months than children of control mothers. Symptoms of social anxiety, somatic anxiety, and worry at eight weeks and 40 months postpartum predicted some parenting and child functioning variables. Although anxiety status at eight weeks postpartum was unrelated to parenting behaviors and parental relationship functioning, there was a trend toward maternal anxiety at 40 months postpartum to relate positively to these variables. There was a higher degree of concordance between parents on ratings of child functioning when they reported on overt rather than covert behavior. Diagnostic classification at eight weeks postpartum was more useful in predicting child difficulties at follow-up, whereas parental relationship functioning at follow-up was predicted best by self-report measures of anxiety at eight weeks postpartum. Overall, in contrast to postpartum depression, anxiety during the first eight weeks postpartum was associated with little long-term psychosocial impairment. Moreover, diagnostic status at 40 months postpartum predicted psychosocial functioning at follow-up better than diagnostic status at eight weeks postpartum. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

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