The DOI matches its Crossref record; 56 of the 57 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Early parental preoccupations and behaviors and their possible relationship to the symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder
Abstract
This study focuses on early parental preoccupations and behaviors (EPPB) surrounding the birth of a new family member. An interview instrument was developed to assess EPPB at eight months prepartum and two weeks and three months postpartum. Measures with adequate psychometric and conceptual properties were used to assess the overall level of parental preoccupations and associated actions as well as three content domains: caregiving (CARE), relationship building (RELATIONSHIP), and anxious intrusive thoughts associated with harm avoidant behaviors (AITHAB). The hypothesis that preoccupations and behaviors would peak for both parents close to the birth of the child was confirmed. Measures of EPPB were distinguished from symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety. Consistent with our a priori hypothesis the content and character of the AITHAB was found to resemble the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The study findings suggest the potential adaptive significance of EPPB and the possible evolutionary origins of OCD.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Consistent with perspectives suggesting that periods of parental and romantic bonding share underlying mechanisms, this factor is similar to the one used in parenting research, describes a unique mental state in parents during the postpartum period (Feldman et al., 1999; Leckman et al., 1999), and has shown to correlate with parental OT (Feldman et al., 2007).”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Leckman et al., 1999
In the citing paper
“Both the early stages of romantic love and early parental love are characterized by typical behaviors, mental states, and activations of specific brain structures (Atzil et al., 2011; Bartels and Zeki, 2004; Leckman et al., 1999; van Anders et al., 2011).”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Leckman et al., 1999
In the citing paper
“In addition, the early stages of parenting has shown to be accompanied by heightened sensitivity to infant cues and mental preoccupations and worries, which similarly correlate with OT (Feldman et al., 2007) and are essential for the formation of the parent’s bond to the infant (Feldman et al., 1999; Leckman et al., 1999).”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Leckman et al., 1999
In the citing paper
“During the early postpartum period, increased levels of anxiety and worries in new parents, typically about their infant’s safety and health, may include thoughts of reciprocity, unity and even idealised perfection of the infant, which may elevate anxiety levels (14–16).”
From Neuroendocrinology of Parental Response to Baby‐Cry (2011) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“These times were chosen to coincide with the transforming experience of having a baby known to be associated with increased tendency for parents to be highly preoccupied in the early postpartum”
From The human parental brain: In vivo neuroimaging (2011) · cites this paper as Leckman et al., 1999
Citations
Cites
Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Carbin, M. G. (1988) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/0272-7358(88)90050-5 · Cited by 11,696
The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: I. Development, Use, and Reliability
Goodman, W. K. (1989) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810110048007 · Cited by 7,712
The dimensions of perfectionism
Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/bf01172967 · Cited by 4,279
A parental bonding instrument.
Parker, G., Tupling, H., & Brown, L. B. (1979) · British Journal of Medical Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1979.tb02487.x · Cited by 3,788
The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: II. Validity
Goodman, W. K. (1989) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810110054008 · Cited by 2,799
The Evolution of Parental Care
Clutton‐Brock, T. H. (1991) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9780691206981 · Cited by 2,785
Obsessional-compulsive problems: A cognitive-behavioural analysis
Salkovskis, P. M. (1985) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(85)90105-6 · Cited by 1,842
(1985) · doi:10.2307/3333824 · Cited by 1,658
Fraiberg, S., Adelson, E., & Shapiro, V. (1975) · Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0002-7138(09)61442-4 · Cited by 1,574
Best Estimate of Lifetime Psychiatric Diagnosis
Leckman, J. F. (1982) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1982.04290080001001 · Cited by 1,418
Research works printed but not linked: 15
- Winnicott DW., 1956, Collected Papers: Through Pediatrics to Psycho‐Analysis, 1958
- Kreisler L, 1974, L'enfant et son corps
- Lebovici S., 1983, Le nourrisson, la mère et le psychoanalyste: Les interventions précoces
- Stern DN., 1997, The motherhood constellation: A unified view of parent‐infant psychopathology
- Zeanah CH, 1994, Mothers' representations of their infants are concordant with infant attachment classifications, Develop Issues Psychiatry Psychol, 1, 1
- Hinde RA., 1974, Biological Basies of Human Social Behavior
- Hinde RA., 1989, Ethological and relationship approaches, Ann Child Develop, 6, 251
- Leckman JF, Advancing Research in Developmental Plasticity: Integrating the Behavioral Science and Neuroscience of Mental Health, 134
- Livingston‐Van Noppen B, 1990, Obsessive‐compulsive disorder: Theory and Management
- Leckman JF, 1994, Yale Inventory of Parental Thoughts and Actions
- Woodcock RW, 1989, Woodcock‐Johnsoi Psycho‐Educational Battery … Revised
- Bowlby J., 1969, Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Attachmeni
- Bowlby J., 1973, Attachment and Loss. Vol. TI: Separation, Anxiety and Anger
- Ainsworth MDS, 1978, Patterns of attachment
- FeldmanR WellerA LeckmanJF KuintJ EidelmanAI.The nature of the mother's tie to her infant: Maternal bonding with healthy and at‐risk.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. In press.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–206 of 206
Li, M. (2025) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105857
Mirror of Motherhood: Appearance Schema, Appearance Anxiety, and Body Image Quality of Life in Women
Gayathri, R., & Datta, P. (2026) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.105574 · Cited by 1
Vuoriainen, E., Astikainen, P., Li, X., Xu, Q., Yrttiaho, S., & Peltola, M. J. (2026) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsag073
Fujisaki, K., Ueda, R., Nakai, R., & Abe, N. (2026) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-026-01470-w
Leistikow, N., Smith, M. H., Walser, S. A., & Thompson, L. (2026) · Advances in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health · doi:10.1016/j.ypsc.2026.04.011
BEHAVIOURAL AND NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF MATERNAL SENSITIVITY IN HEALTHY NEW MOTHERS
Elmadih, A. (2013) · Research Explorer (The University of Manchester)
Metadata
- Authors
- Leckman, J. F., Mayes, L. C., Feldman, R., Evans, D. W., King, R. A., & Cohen, D. J.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Venue
- Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1999-02
- Volume
- 100
- Issue
- S396
- Pages
- 1-26
- ISSN
- 0001-690X (ISSN-L)
- 1600-0447
- OpenAlex
- W2032720942
- Cited by
- 207
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 5.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH49351, P01MH049351)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA00222)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- obsessive-compulsive disorder, prepartum anxiety, postpartum anxiety, harm avoidance, intrusive thoughts, caregiving, parent-infant relationship, maternal anxiety, paternal anxiety
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Anxiety, Separation, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Prospective Studies, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Reproducibility of Results, Parenting
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
