Research Article Perinatal Depression and Patterns of Attachment:

Copyright © 2015 Valentina Meuti et al.This is an open access article distributed under theCreative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. This study aims to verify if the presence and severity of perinatal depression are related to any particular pattern of attachment. Methods. The study started with a screening of a sample of 453 women in their third trimester of pregnancy, who were administered a survey data form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Experience in Close Relationship (ECR). A clinical group of subjects with perinatal depression (PND, 89 subjects) was selected and compared with a control group (C), regarding psychopathological variables and attachment patterns. Results. The ECR showed a prevalence of “Fearful-Avoidant” attachment style in PND group (29.2 % versus 1.1%