What the study found
The study found that inflated responsibility, meaning a tendency to feel overly responsible for preventing harm, was the only factor that explained unique differences in postnatal anxiety. Intolerance of uncertainty was also related to postnatal anxiety, and both factors were linked to a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that intolerance of uncertainty and inflated responsibility may help explain the higher rate of anxiety in postnatal women and may affect a mother's decision to breastfeed her infant. They also suggest that these concepts deserve more investigation.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used an anonymous online survey with 126 participants, mostly white Irish women, to assess postnatal anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, inflated responsibility, and infant feeding. They analyzed the data with hierarchical multiple regression to find unique predictors of postnatal anxiety and multivariate tests to examine feeding outcomes.
What worked and what didn't
Inflated responsibility and intolerance of uncertainty were both significantly correlated with postnatal anxiety. However, only inflated responsibility accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in postnatal anxiety. For feeding outcomes, both inflated responsibility and intolerance of uncertainty were associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding.
What to keep in mind
The abstract describes this as a small cross-sectional study, so the findings should be interpreted with caution. The available summary does not describe additional limitations beyond the sample size, sample composition, and study design.
Key points
- Inflated responsibility uniquely predicted postnatal anxiety.
- Intolerance of uncertainty was also correlated with postnatal anxiety.
- Both inflated responsibility and intolerance of uncertainty were associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding.
- The study used an anonymous online survey of 126 participants, mostly white Irish women.
- The authors describe the study as small and cross-sectional, and advise caution.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Inflated responsibility linked more strongly to postnatal anxiety
- Authors:
- Catriona M. Larkin, Simon McCarthy-Jones, Craig Chigwedere
- Institutions:
- Trinity College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-01
- OpenAlex record:
- View
Get the weekly research newsletter
Stay current with scholarly research without reading academic papers — one filtered digest, every Friday.