Face-to-Face Interactions of Postpartum Depressed and Nondepressed Mother-Infant Pairs at 2 Months

Depression's influence on mother-infant interactions at 2 months postpartum was studied in 24 depressed and 22 nondepressed mother-infant dyads. Depression was diagnosed using the SADS-L and RDC. In S's homes, structured interactions of 3 min duration were videotaped and later coded using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 1990-01, Vol.26 (1), p.15-23
Main Authors: Cohn, Jeffrey F, Campbell, Susan B, Matias, Reinaldo, Hopkins, Joyce
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Behavioral Assessment
Human
Mental depression
Mother Child Relations
Parents & parenting
Postpartum Depression
Psychosocial Development
Social research
Women
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Summary:Depression's influence on mother-infant interactions at 2 months postpartum was studied in 24 depressed and 22 nondepressed mother-infant dyads. Depression was diagnosed using the SADS-L and RDC. In S's homes, structured interactions of 3 min duration were videotaped and later coded using behavioral descriptors and a 1-s time base. Unstructured interactions were described using rating scales. During structured interactions, depressed mothers were more negative and their babies were less positive than were nondepressed dyads. The reduced positivity of depressed dyads was achieved through contingent responsiveness. Ratings from unstructured interactions were consistent with these findings. Results support the hypothesis that depression negatively influences mother-infant behavior, but indicate that influence may vary with development, chronicity, and presence of other risk factors.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.26.1.15