Interpretation of infant facial expression in the context of maternal postnatal depression

Abstract

Postnatal maternal depression is associated with difficulties in maternal responsiveness. As most signals arising from the infant come from facial expressions one possible explanation for these difficulties is that mothers with postnatal depression are differentially affected by particular infant facial expressions. Thus, this study investigates the effects of postnatal depression on mothers’ perceptions of infant facial expressions. Participants (15 controls, 15 depressed and 15 anxious mothers) were asked to rate a number of infant facial expressions, ranging from very positive to very negative. Each face was shown twice, for a short and for a longer period of time in random order. Results revealed that mothers used more extreme ratings when shown the infant faces (i.e. more negative or more positive) for a longer period of time. Mothers suffering from postnatal depression were more likely to rate negative infant faces shown for a longer period more negatively than controls. The differences were specific to depression rather than an effect of general postnatal psychopathology—as no differences were observed between anxious mothers and controls. There were no other significant differences in maternal ratings of infant faces showed for short periods or for positive or neutral valence faces of either length. The findings that mothers with postnatal depression rate negative infant faces more negatively indicate that appraisal bias might underlie some of the difficulties that these mothers have in responding to their own infants signals.

Análise da relação entre depressão materna e indicadores clínicos de risco para o desenvolvimento infantil

“…In this study, statistically important results were found because it was possible to detect a positive correlation between maternal depression and the presence of risks indicators to the children development, which confirms the predictions of numerous mothers interpret negatively the maternal attitudes, affecting the baby's ability to respond in the dyad's interaction 23 .…”

Cognitive biases in processing infant emotion by women with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in pregnancy or after birth: A systematic review

“…For example, Stein et al (2010) and Gil et al (2011) found no effect of depressive symptoms on identifying positive emotions. However, Arteche et al (2011) found that women with depression were less accurate at identifying happiness in infant faces.…”

“…In both cases, women with anxiety or depressive symptoms appear to be biased towards identifying negative emotional expressions in infant faces, and may possibly be quicker at identifying negative emotions. For example, Stein et al (2010) found that women with diagnosed depression rated negative and muted negative faces as more negative than controls. Additionally, Gil, Teissèdre, Chambres, and Droit-Volet (2011) found that mothers with high state anxiety were more likely to rate sad infant faces as being sadder, and mothers high in trait anxiety were more likely to rate neutral infant faces as being sad.…”

Full Issue

“…T he postpartum year, starting after childbirth, is a critical period for early child development and for the establishment of a mother-child relationship (Stein et al, 2010). Mothers-the principal caregivers for most children during the first year of life-play a decisive role in the optimal development of their children.…”