Maternal depressive symptoms in infancy: Unique contribution to children's depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence?

Abstract

This prospective 20-year study assessed associations between maternal depressive symptoms in infancy, childhood, and adolescence and child and adolescent depressive symptoms in a sample of families at high psychosocial risk. Maternal symptomatology was assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D;Radloff, 1977) when children were infants (12 months), school-aged (age 8), and adolescents (age 19). Children's depressive symptoms were measured at age 8 (Dimensions of Depression Profile for Children and Adolescents, Hatter & Nowakowski, 1987) and age 19 (CES-D). Maternal depressive symptoms during infancy contributed to the prediction of child depressive symptoms at age 8, after controlling for concurrent maternal depressive symptoms, clinical family risk in infancy, and gender. Clinical family risk in infancy marginally contributed to the prediction model. Disorganization of attachment in infancy and maternal hostility were independent predictors of depressive symptoms at age 8 and did not mediate the relation between maternal and child depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms in adolescence were predicted by gender, children's depressive symptoms at age 8, maternal depressive symptoms in adolescence, and maternal depressive symptoms in infancy. There was no moderating effect of gender. Adding to previous evidence on the importance of early maternal depression, maternal depressive symptoms during infancy were strongly related to the development of depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence.Keywords maternal depressive symptoms; child depressive symptoms; attachment; maternal sensitivity There is now ample empirical evidence that depressive symptoms are not exclusive to adulthood. In fact, depression can be detected in children as young as 5 years of age, if not younger (see Luby, Belden, & Spitznagel, 2006; Luby, Heffelfinger, Mrakotsky, Brown, Hessler, Wallis, & Spitznagel, 2003;Rutter, Izard, & Read, 1986). Depression with childhood onset can have serious long-term developmental consequences, such as poorer school performance, interpersonal conflict, substance abuse, delinquency, and increased risk of suicide during the adolescent years (Elgar, McGrath, Waschbusch, Stewart, & Curtis, 2004). One important precursor of childhood and adolescent depression identified in the literature is the presence of maternal depressive symptoms Downey & Coyne, Correspondence should be addressed to Jean-François Bureau, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Hospital, 1493 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139. Electronic mail may be sent via Internet to jbureau@challiance.org. Goodman & Gotlib, 1999;. Previous research has identified possible mediators (e.g. maternal sensitivity, quality of attachment) and moderators (e.g. gender) of this transmission of depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to explore the importance of timing of exposure to maternal depressive symptoms, as well as the relative influence of maternal sensitivity, security and disorganization of...

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