Cognitive behavioural therapy for intolerance of uncertainty: A study protocol for the prevention of postpartum anxiety.

IF 2.1 4区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology Pub Date : 2025-04-29 DOI:10.1080/02646838.2025.2495928

Melissa Furtado, Benicio N Frey, Briar E Inness, Randi E McCabe, Sheryl M Green

{"title":"Cognitive behavioural therapy for intolerance of uncertainty: A study protocol for the prevention of postpartum anxiety.","authors":"Melissa Furtado, Benicio N Frey, Briar E Inness, Randi E McCabe, Sheryl M Green","doi":"10.1080/02646838.2025.2495928","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background: Mental health disorders are the most prevalent health complication experienced during pregnancy and the postpartum, with anxiety disorders being most common. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a well-known feature of anxiety disorders and has recently been identified as a risk factor for the worsening of anxiety during the postpartum period. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a first-line treatment for perinatal anxiety, and CBT specifically targeting IU in non-perinatal populations has demonstrated positive findings for reducing anxiety. As such, the objective of our study is to examine whether CBT targeting IU in pregnancy can reduce the risk of postpartum anxiety.Methods: This protocol paper outlines a proof-of-concept randomised clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of a newly developed CBT for IU (CBT-IU) protocol to reduce the risk of postpartum anxiety. Pregnant individuals identified at increased risk for postpartum anxiety (defined as a baseline score of 64 or greater on the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale) will be randomised to receive CBT-IU or care as usual (CAU) during pregnancy and will be followed through the postpartum period (6-12 weeks). The CBT-IU protocol is a weekly, six session treatment, which includes psychoeducation, behavioural experiments, imaginal exposure, and problem-solving to target IU.Discussion: To our knowledge, this will be the first study to investigate the efficacy of a CBT protocol aimed at reducing the risk of developing postpartum anxiety. Establishing this protocol as a potentially preventative strategy will offer a new option to improve the mental health and well-being of mothers and their infants.Clinical trial registration: Trial Number is NCT05691140 and accessible at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05691140.","PeriodicalId":47721,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2025.2495928","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Mental health disorders are the most prevalent health complication experienced during pregnancy and the postpartum, with anxiety disorders being most common. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a well-known feature of anxiety disorders and has recently been identified as a risk factor for the worsening of anxiety during the postpartum period. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a first-line treatment for perinatal anxiety, and CBT specifically targeting IU in non-perinatal populations has demonstrated positive findings for reducing anxiety. As such, the objective of our study is to examine whether CBT targeting IU in pregnancy can reduce the risk of postpartum anxiety.

Methods: This protocol paper outlines a proof-of-concept randomised clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of a newly developed CBT for IU (CBT-IU) protocol to reduce the risk of postpartum anxiety. Pregnant individuals identified at increased risk for postpartum anxiety (defined as a baseline score of 64 or greater on the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale) will be randomised to receive CBT-IU or care as usual (CAU) during pregnancy and will be followed through the postpartum period (6-12 weeks). The CBT-IU protocol is a weekly, six session treatment, which includes psychoeducation, behavioural experiments, imaginal exposure, and problem-solving to target IU.

Discussion: To our knowledge, this will be the first study to investigate the efficacy of a CBT protocol aimed at reducing the risk of developing postpartum anxiety. Establishing this protocol as a potentially preventative strategy will offer a new option to improve the mental health and well-being of mothers and their infants.

Clinical trial registration: Trial Number is NCT05691140 and accessible at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05691140.

查看原文本刊更多论文

不确定性耐受的认知行为疗法：预防产后焦虑的研究方案。

背景：心理健康障碍是妊娠期和产后最常见的健康并发症，其中焦虑症最为常见。不确定性不耐受（IU）是焦虑症的一个众所周知的特征，最近被确定为产后焦虑恶化的一个危险因素。认知行为疗法（CBT）是围产期焦虑的一线治疗方法，CBT专门针对非围产期人群的IU已显示出减少焦虑的积极结果。因此，我们研究的目的是检查CBT是否针对孕期IU可以降低产后焦虑的风险。方法：本协议文件概述了一项概念验证随机临床试验，评估新开发的CBT治疗IU （CBT-IU）方案降低产后焦虑风险的有效性。确定产后焦虑风险增加的孕妇（定义为不确定性不耐受量表的基线得分为64分或更高）将被随机分配，在怀孕期间接受CBT-IU或照护（CAU），并将随访至产后（6-12周）。CBT-IU方案是每周6次的治疗，包括心理教育、行为实验、想象暴露和目标IU问题解决。讨论：据我们所知，这将是第一个研究旨在降低产后焦虑风险的CBT方案的疗效的研究。将这一议定书确立为一种潜在的预防战略，将为改善母亲及其婴儿的心理健康和福祉提供一种新的选择。临床试验注册：试验号为NCT05691140，可访问https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05691140。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

8.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology reports and reviews outstanding research on psychological, behavioural, medical and social aspects of human reproduction, pregnancy and infancy. Medical topics focus on obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry. The growing work in relevant aspects of medical communication and medical sociology are also covered. Relevant psychological work includes developmental psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, behavioural medicine, psychology of women and health psychology. Research into psychological aspects of midwifery, health visiting and nursing is central to the interests of the Journal. The Journal is of special value to those concerned with interdisciplinary issues. As a result, the Journal is of particular interest to those concerned with fundamental processes in behaviour and to issues of health promotion and service organization.