Associations of nonattachment with infant care-related obsessive-compulsive behaviours, depression, anxiety, and stress in postpartum women.

BACKGROUND

Postpartum women frequently experience depression, anxiety, stress, and infant care-related obsessive-compulsive behaviours, adversely affecting maternal psychological adjustment and well-being. Nonattachment is a potentially protective psychological construct associated with lower psychological distress and greater well-being, however; evidence on its relationship with postpartum psychological symptoms is limited.

AIM: This study aimed to examine the associations between nonattachment and infant care-related obsessive-compulsive behaviours, depression, anxiety, and stress among postpartum women.

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study included 220 women between the second and eighth postpartum weeks. Data were collected using a sociodemographic and obstetric form, the Nonattachment Scale-Short Form, the Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviours Toward Infant Care Scale, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and linear regression.

FINDINGS: Nonattachment was negatively correlated with stress, anxiety, depression, and infant care-related obsessive-compulsive behaviours. Higher stress, depression, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour scores were independently associated with lower nonattachment. The model explained 30.5% of the variance in nonattachment. Lower nonattachment was observed among women with previous mental health symptoms, poor economic status, and poorer spousal relationships.

CONCLUSION

Lower nonattachment was associated with greater postpartum psychological distress and higher infant care-related obsessive-compulsive behaviours, suggesting that nonattachment may be a clinically relevant psychological construct for understanding maternal cognitive-emotional adjustment during the postpartum period.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Assessment of nonattachment may complement postpartum mental health screening for women at increased risk of psychological distress. Future studies should evaluate whether mindfulness- or acceptance-based approaches that enhance nonattachment improve postpartum mental health outcomes.