The objective of this paper is to examine the association between maternal lifetime abuse and perinatal depressive symptoms. Papers included in this review were identified through electronic searches of the following databases: Pubmed Medline and Ovid, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library. Each database was searched from its start date through 1 September 2011. Keywords such as "postpartum," "perinatal," "prenatal," "depression," "violence," "child abuse," and "partner abuse" were included in the purview of MeSH terms. Studies that examined the association between maternal lifetime abuse and perinatal depression were included. A total of 545 studies were included in the initial screening. Forty-three articles met criteria for inclusion and were incorporated in this review. Quality of articles was evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale (NOS). This systematic review indicates a positive association between maternal lifetime abuse and depressive symptoms in the perinatal period.

To examine relations between infant social withdrawal behavior and maternal major depression (MDD), 155 mother-infant dyads were evaluated at the 6-month primary care visit. Maternal depression was determined based on a psychiatric interview. Infant social withdrawal behavior was assessed with the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB; A. Guedeney & J. Fermanian, 2001) based on videotaped mother-infant interactions. Of the sample, 18.7% of mothers were diagnosed with MDD, and 39.4% of infants scored above the clinical ADBB cutoff. Infants of depressed mothers were more likely to score positive on the ADBB (75.8 vs. 31.0%, p < .001) and showed distinct patterns of withdrawal behavior. Within the group of withdrawn infants, however, no differential patterns of behavior could be identified for infants of depressed mothers as compared to infants of mothers with no depression. These findings confirm the validity of the ADBB for detection of infant social withdrawal in the context of MDD. At the same time, they support evidence that the ADBB identifies nonspecific infant distress behaviors. Future studies will need to determine if and how positive ADBB screening results in the absence of maternal MDD might be associated with other maternal psychiatric disorders such as anxiety or borderline personality disorder. These results have important implications for screening guidelines in primary care.

Psychology's historical rejection of ethics has led to an oversimplification of the origins and treatments of mental disorders. In this article, we present an analysis of how classical neurosis can be reformulated from an ethical and psychological interaction. We focus on the crucial role that egocentricity plays and argue that this term can help to clarify how ego defensive ethical decisions can undermine psychological capacities and contribute to a progressive depersonalization that can result in typical clinical disorders. In Christian anthropology, the virtues, especially humility and love have a crucial role in the positive growth of human affective and cognitive capacities. In addition, the person in his/her nature is endowed with the capacity to transcend the self and to escape egocentricity through self-giving love of God and of others. This capacity of self-giving is diametrically opposed to egocentricity and opens a new way for possible psychological recovery.