Rearing practices and impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms in relation to inflated responsibility and obsessive‐compulsive symptoms

Smári, J., Rúrik Martinsson, D., & Einarsson, H. (2010). Rearing practices and impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms in relation to inflated responsibility and obsessive‐compulsive symptoms. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 392–397. The aim of the study was to investigate potential precursors of inflated responsibility (responsibility attitudes) and obsessive‐compulsive (OCD) symptoms. It was argued that both parental overprotection and impulsivity, separately and in interaction with each other, contribute to inflated responsibility and OCD symptoms. In a large sample of young adults (N = 570), self‐report measures of OCD symptoms (OCI‐R), responsibility attitudes (RAS), anxiety/depression (HADS), rearing practices (EMBU), present and past impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms (IMP/HY) were administered. Overprotection as well as IMP/HY were found to predict OCD symptoms as well as inflated responsibility. Finally, a significant interaction was found between IMP/HY and overprotection with regard to both OCD symptoms and inflated responsibility. This effect reflected that IMP/HY was more strongly related to OCD symptoms and responsibility in people who had not been overprotected than in people who had been. Conversely overprotection was related to OCD symptoms and responsibility in people low but not in people high in IMP/HY. The results seem to indicate that the inadequacy between offer and need for parental control may play a role in the development of OCD symptoms.     

Adult attachment styles,self‐esteem,and depressive symptoms: A comparison between postpartum and nonpostpartum women in Korea

Life stress related to child bearing has been suggested to increase the risk of maternal depression in vulnerable women who have an insecure relationship. This study examined the relationship between adult attachment security and maternal depression in postpartum women as compared to nonpostpartum women. A total of 254 Korean women were recruited from pediatric hospitals, of whom 119 were in the postpartum period. Participants completed the Relationship Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale. Both preoccupied and fearful attachment styles were associated with low self‐esteem and higher levels of depressive symptoms, but a dismissing attachment style was not related to self‐esteem and depression severity. Low self‐esteem was found to mediate the relation between insecure attachment and depression severity; however, this mediating effect differed depending on the insecure attachment style. For preoccupied attachment, the role of self‐esteem as a mediator was observed only in postpartum women, not in nonpostpartum women (moderated mediation). In contrast, for fearful attachment, the mediating effects emerged in both groups. The results highlight the fact that there is a complex mechanism behind the link between interpersonal relationships and risk of maternal depression.