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AI Summary of Peer-Reviewed Research

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Inflated responsibility linked to postnatal anxiety and breastfeeding

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A woman with reddish-brown hair wearing a light blue shirt holds a newborn baby in white clothing against her chest while looking down tenderly at the infant against a blue-toned background.
Research area:MedicineMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumAnxiety

What the study found

The study found that inflated responsibility (IR) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) were both related to postnatal anxiety, but only inflated responsibility explained a unique amount of the anxiety in the regression analysis. The authors also reported that both IR and IU were associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors suggest that IU and IR may have different impacts on postnatal anxiety. They conclude that these factors may help explain the higher incidence of anxiety in postnatal women and may affect a mother's decision to breastfeed her infant.

What the researchers tested

The researchers used an anonymous online survey completed by 126 predominantly white Irish participants. The survey assessed postnatal anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, inflated responsibility, and infant feeding, and the team used hierarchical multiple regression and multivariate tests to examine associations.

What worked and what didn't

Both IR and IU were significantly correlated with postnatal anxiety. However, in the regression analyses, only IR accounted for a significant unique amount of variance in postnatal anxiety. For feeding outcomes, both IR and IU were associated with a reduced likelihood to breastfeed.

What to keep in mind

The abstract describes this as a small cross-sectional study, so the findings should be interpreted with caution. The authors note that the results have limitations and say more investigation of these concepts would be beneficial.

Key points

  • Inflated responsibility and intolerance of uncertainty were both linked to postnatal anxiety.
  • Only inflated responsibility explained unique variance in postnatal anxiety in regression analysis.
  • Both inflated responsibility and intolerance of uncertainty were associated with reduced likelihood of breastfeeding.
  • The study used an anonymous online survey of 126 predominantly white Irish participants.
  • The authors describe the study as small and cross-sectional and recommend more investigation.

Disclosure

Research title:
Inflated responsibility linked to postnatal anxiety and breastfeeding
Authors:
Catriona M. Larkin, Simon McCarthy-Jones, Craig Chigwedere
Institutions:
Trinity College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin
Publication date:
2026-03-01
DOI:
10.1017/s1352465825101264
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.