Maternal chronic depression affects love styles: A cohort study in Southern Brazil

Denise Müller Böhm,Luciana De Avila Quevedo,Bárbara Borges Rubin,Jéssica Puchalski Trettim,Carolina Coelho Scholl,Mariana Bonati De Matos,Fabio Monteiro Da Cunha Coelho,Luciano Dias Mattos De Souza,Rochele Castelli,Karen Amaral Tavares Pinheiro,Mariane Lopez Molina,Ricardo Tavares Pinheiro

doi:10.5964/ijpr.v14i2.4497

Abstract

Given the importance that love has in individuals’ lives, and considering that more specific studies about the relationship between depression and the way people love are lacking, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of major depressive disorder (MDD) on “love styles.” This study was nested in a cohort of adolescent mothers. Women were assessed for MDD at each point of assessment: during pregnancy (T1), at between 30 and 60 postpartum days (T2), and at approximately 30 postpartum months (T3), by using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI PLUS) tool. The Love Attitudes Scale (LAS) was administered to assess the six love styles at T3. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to express the strength of depression on love styles. We found that chronic major depression had the largest effect on the love styles (low Eros, high Mania, and high Agape), followed by current major depression. However, the same association was not observed in the perinatal period. Thus, the assessment of love style is relevant as it seems that an MDD-related injury in maternal life is related to their attitudes about love and there could be possible harmful consequences of these attitudes to the mother and the whole family.

Highlights

Given the importance that love has in individuals’ lives, and considering that more specific studies about the relationship between depression and the way people love are lacking, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of major depressive disorder (MDD) on “love styles.” This study was nested in a cohort of adolescent mothers
Considering this scenario, young mothers who are in their adolescence/emerging adulthood and suffering from MDD are probably at risk of portraying love in a more pathological way, since the interpersonal behavioral patterns of those suffering from MDD and symptoms such as sadness, loss of interest, and feelings of worthless/self- blame can severely impair close relationships
Of the initial 544 young mothers with a 30-month post-partum follow-up, 540 (99%) completed the demographics questions, 502 (93%) completed the diagnostic assessment for MDD, and the missings of the love styles variables is indicated in the Table 1

Summary

Introduction

Given the importance that love has in individuals’ lives, and considering that more specific studies about the relationship between depression and the way people love are lacking, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of major depressive disorder (MDD) on “love styles.” This study was nested in a cohort of adolescent mothers. It is known that being in love seems to be challenging and daunting for adolescents and young adults (Bajoghli et al, 2014; Furman, 2002); these interpersonal relationships of a new mother, especially the relationship with her partner, usually suffer, for example, in terms of relationship satisfaction and privacy as a couple (Frizzo et al, 2010; Mortensen, Torsheim, Melkevik, & Thuen, 2012) Considering this scenario, young mothers who are in their adolescence/emerging adulthood and suffering from MDD are probably at risk of portraying love in a more pathological way, since the interpersonal behavioral patterns of those suffering from MDD and symptoms such as sadness, loss of interest, and feelings of worthless/self- blame can severely impair close relationships. This understanding of love certainly does not cover all definitions on the subject, but it appears as a very comprehensive description on the basis that it has not been studied on the subject

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Conclusion