Higher psychoticism as a predictor of thoughts of harming one's infant in postpartum women: a prospective study

Abstract

Background: Some women experience thoughts of harming their infants during the early postpartum period. These intrusive thoughts are conceptually similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder. The aim of our study was to assess whether personality characteristics may predict a mother's development of postpartum thoughts of harming her infant.

Methods: We studied 137 women with no psychiatric history. They were assessed at two different times during the postpartum period (2-3days after giving birth and during the 8th week following delivery). We assessed postpartum thoughts of harming one's infant with a semi-structured interview conducted in person. Personality characteristics were assessed with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Depression was assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and with a structured interview (Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies). We also assessed socio-demographic variables, obstetric variables and stressful life events. Adjusting for age, depression and stressful life events, logistic regression was conducted to explore the relationship between a woman's personality characteristics and postpartum thoughts of harming her infant.

Results: Women with postpartum thoughts of harming their infants scored higher in EPQ-Psychoticism (P=0.003) but not in neuroticism or extraversion. EPQ-Psychoticism was significantly associated with the presence of postpartum intrusive thoughts (OR=1.67, p=0.003) after adjusting for other personality dimensions, age, depression and life stress. Those women scoring 5 or higher in EPQ-Psychoticism were 5.5 times more likely to report postpartum intrusive thoughts (p=0.004).

Conclusions: In healthy women without psychiatric history, psychoticism is a predictor of postpartum thoughts of harming their infants.