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Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts of Infant-Related Sexual Harm: Prevalence and Assessment of Safety

Quincy M Beck1, Juliette Sachet1, Claudia Cargnelli2

  • 1Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
|February 6, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Unwanted intrusive thoughts (UITs) of infant-related sexual harm are common in new parents. Research indicates these thoughts do not correlate with harmful sexual behaviors toward infants.

Area of Science:

  • Perinatal mental health
  • Child psychology
  • Clinical psychology

Background:

  • Unwanted intrusive thoughts (UITs) of infant-related harm are prevalent in birthing parents.
  • Previous research shows no link between UITs of physical harm and infant aggression.
  • The association between UITs of infant-related sexual harm and sexual behaviors toward infants remains unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between unwanted intrusive thoughts of infant-related sexual harm and actual sexual behaviors toward infants in birthing parents.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective, province-wide cohort study of 763 English-speaking birthing parents (N=502 analyzed).
  • Interviews assessed UITs of infant-related sexual harm at 7 weeks and 4 months postpartum.
  • Anonymized questionnaire assessed sexual harming behaviors toward the infant at study's end.

Main Results:

  • 9.2% of participants reported UITs of infant-related sexual harm.
  • No association was found between these UITs and sexual behavior toward the infant (P=1.00).
  • Only one participant reported sexual behavior toward their infant, without prior UITs.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support that unwanted intrusive thoughts of infant harm, including sexual harm, are not linked to increased risk of harm.
  • Replication with a larger sample is recommended due to the study's limited sample size.

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