Postnatal depression and infant cognitive and motor development in the second postnatal year: The impact of depression chronicity and infant gender

A large body of literature has investigated the effects of postnatal depression on infant development. However, the particular circumstances in which depression is associated with adverse effects remain unresolved. Factors, such as the nature of depression (e.g., duration and severity) and the conte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infant behavior & development 2005-12, Vol.28 (4), p.407-417
Main Authors: Cornish, A.M., McMahon, C.A., Ungerer, J.A., Barnett, B., Kowalenko, N., Tennant, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Child development
Chronicity
Depression
Developmental psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gender
Infant development
Maternal depression
Medical sciences
Mood disorders
Newborn. Infant
Postnatal depression
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
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Summary:A large body of literature has investigated the effects of postnatal depression on infant development. However, the particular circumstances in which depression is associated with adverse effects remain unresolved. Factors, such as the nature of depression (e.g., duration and severity) and the context with respect to other risk and protective factors (e.g., socioeconomic status and child gender) have been suggested as moderators of the effects of postnatal depression on infant outcomes. This study examined the impact of brief and chronic depression in a non-poverty sample of 112 mothers and their infants. Infant language development was assessed at 12 months, and at 15 months the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II were administered. Chronic maternal depression, lasting throughout the first 12 months postpartum and beyond, was associated with lower infant cognitive and psychomotor development, with the effects being similar for boys and girls, while brief depression did not significantly impact the infant performance. Language development and infant behavior during testing were equivalent across the groups. The relatively high rates of motor development delay associated with chronic maternal depression found in this study are discussed along with the methodological issues and models of cumulative risk.
ISSN:0163-6383
1879-0453
DOI:10.1016/j.infbeh.2005.03.004