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Stability and Continuity of Women’s Core Beliefs and Psychopathological Symptoms from Pregnancy to One Year Postpartum

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Abstract

Unhealthy core beliefs are theorized to be stable constructs throughout the life-span, but no research to date, outside of the context of clinical intervention, has addressed this claim over a period of greater than 6 weeks. This study explores the stability and continuity of core beliefs and psychopathological symptoms in a group of women over a major life event and for 1 year subsequently. Eighty-seven women completed measures assessing their core beliefs and psychopathological symptoms during pregnancy and at 6 and 12 months after giving birth. General maternal psychopathological symptoms significantly decreased across the group between pregnancy and 6 months postpartum, and between pregnancy and 1 year, but showed evidence of stability in the ranks of individuals across time. The majority of core beliefs remained both stable and continuous throughout this period of major transition. These findings generally support the theoretical contention that core beliefs are relatively stable and continuous self-constructs.

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Notes

  1. We have adopted this nomenclature within this paper in the descriptions of our methodology and also in our descriptions of the methods and findings of others, whether or not other authors have described their procedures in this way, for the sake of clarity and comparability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Jacqueline M. Blissett

  2. School of Psychology, Keele University, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 SBG, UK

    Claire V. Farrow

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  1. Jacqueline M. Blissett
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  2. Claire V. Farrow
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Correspondence to Jacqueline M. Blissett.

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Blissett, J.M., Farrow, C.V. Stability and Continuity of Women’s Core Beliefs and Psychopathological Symptoms from Pregnancy to One Year Postpartum. Cogn Ther Res 31, 589–602 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9088-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9088-8

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