RESUMO
Mothers and fathers are at elevated risk for developing depression during the first postnatal year, especially among families from marginalized communities. Although a number of studies demonstrate that exposure to maternal depressive symptoms can undermine infants' regulatory development, less is known about the extent to which paternal depressive symptoms may also contribute. The current study investigated whether maternal and paternal depressive symptoms were uniquely associated with infants' physiological regulation, and whether associations varied depending on infant sex. Participants included 90 low-income Mexican American families. Fathers and mothers self-reported their depressive symptoms when infants were 15 weeks old, and infants' resting parasympathetic activity (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) was assessed at 6 and 24 weeks. Results indicated that, after controlling for infant 6-week RSA and depressive symptoms in the other parent, paternal depressive symptoms were associated with lower 24-week RSA for both girls and boys, but maternal depressive symptoms were only associated with lower 24-week RSA for boys. Findings highlight a potential mechanism through which the consequences of parent depressive symptoms may reverberate across generations, and suggest that considerations of both infants' and parents' sex may lend insight into how best to intervene.
Assuntos
Depressão Pós-Parto , Depressão , Pai , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Americanos Mexicanos , MãesRESUMO
Antenatal and postnatal depression are independently associated with an increased risk of adverse infant development. A key linking mechanism is the quality of mother-infant interaction. OBJECTIVES: This study assesses the association between postnatal depressive symptoms (PDS) and their severity, with the quality of mother-infant interaction and compare the quality of mother-infant interaction and severity of the symptoms depending on the presence or absence of antenatal depressive symptoms (ADS). METHODS: observational study in 177 psychosocial risk mother-infant dyads from Chile (infant aged 2-12 months). RESULTS: Mothers with PDS had lower maternal sensitivity and a more intrusive/controlling style than mothers without PDS, although the severity of the symptoms was not associated with lower maternal sensitivity. Maternal sensitivity did not differ in the postnatal depressed mothers depending on the presence of ADS, although the mothers differed in interaction style and the severity of symptoms. Mothers with ADS and PDS presented with a predominant intrusive/controlling interaction style and more severe depressive symptoms, whereas those with only PDS presented with a predominant nonresponsive/passive interaction style and reduced severity of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results corroborate the need to offer treatment and dyadic interventions to antenatal and postnatal depressive mothers and postulate that the presence of antenatal depressive symptoms may influence the subsequent mother-infant interaction style and greater severity of symptoms.