Attachment security and recent stressful life events predict oxytocin levels: a pilot study of pregnant women with high levels of cumulative psychosocial adversity
Purpose: Recent reports indicate that prenatal levels of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) are inversely related to depressive symptomatology and positively associated with more optimal interactive behaviors in mothers with high levels of cumulative psychosocial adversity (CPA).
In the present pilot study, we aimed to identify factors associated with high versus low levels of OT in pregnant women with high levels of CPA. We hypothesized that insecurely attached women, and those who recently experienced stressful life events (SLE), would have lower levels of prenatal
OT. Methods: Thirty pregnant women with mood and anxiety disorders and high levels of CPA were recruited from the perinatal mental health service of a general hospital. Participants completed self-report measures of psychosocial stress and adult attachment style, and blood was then
drawn to assess OT. Results and conclusions: Lower OT levels were found among those who were insecurely attached, and among those who experienced SLE within the last year. In a multiple linear regression, both attachment security and SLE significantly contributed to a model of prenatal
OT levels. These individual difference factors explained 38% of the variance in prenatal OT, which may in turn predict poorer maternal mental health and caregiving outcomes during the postpartum period.
Keywords: adversity; attachment; mood and anxiety disorders; oxytocin; pregnancy
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 2: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 3: Department of Philosophy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 4: Centre for Nursing Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada 5: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA
Publication date: 04 May 2015
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