Predictors of Depressive Symptom Trajectories in Mothers of Preterm or Low Birth Weight Infants

Predictors of maternal depression trajectories were examined longitudinally in families with an infant born preterm or at a low birth weight. A total of 181 mother-infant dyads enrolled in the study before the infant's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. Maternal depressive symptoms...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family psychology 2009-10, Vol.23 (5), p.690-704
Main Authors: Poehlmann, Julie, Schwichtenberg, AJ Miller, Bolt, Daniel, Dilworth-Bart, Janean
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Babies
Biological and medical sciences
Birth Weight
Depression
Depression, Postpartum - diagnosis
Depression, Postpartum - psychology
Family
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Human
Humans
Infant
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature, Diseases - psychology
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Low birth weight
Major Depression
Male
Maternal depression
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Mood disorders
Mother Child Relations
Mothers
Multiple births
Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data
Premature babies
Premature Birth
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk Factors
Social Support
Young Adult
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Predictors of maternal depression trajectories were examined longitudinally in families with an infant born preterm or at a low birth weight. A total of 181 mother-infant dyads enrolled in the study before the infant's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed at 5 timepoints, and contextual variables and infant risks were assessed at NICU discharge. Hierarchical linear models revealed that mothers who experienced more risk factors reported more depressive symptoms just before their infant's NICU discharge and showed less decline in depressive symptoms in the months immediately following the child's birth. Although cumulative risks predicted depression trajectories, this effect appeared driven by maternal and family sociodemographic risks rather than infant risks. Addition of family support as a covariate in the multilevel models with a subsample of families revealed that social support and depression covaried across time. However, most of the findings regarding the association between risk and depression remained consistent, whereas the effects of maternal race and multiple birth were slightly attenuated.
ISSN:0893-3200
1939-1293
DOI:10.1037/a0016117