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Maternal Depression and the Emotional Development of the Child

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

H. L. Caplan ,
S. R. Cogill ,
Heather Alexandra ,
Kay Mordecai Robson ,
R. Katz  and
R. Kumar
H. L. Caplan*
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University College Hospital, London WC1
S. R. Cogill
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University College Hospital, London WC1
Heather Alexandra
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University College Hospital, London WC1
Kay Mordecai Robson
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
R. Katz
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
R. Kumar
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Ninety-two women and their first-born children took part in a longitudinal survey of maternal mental health. When the children were four years old, their mothers were interviewed by means of the Behavioural Screening Questionnaire, and the children's problems were rated by a psychiatrist, who was unaware of the mothers' psychiatric histories or of assessments of their current health. As expected, mothers who were concurrently depressed reported significantly more behavioural difficulties in their children. Marital disharmony during pregnancy and a history of paternal psychiatric problems were also associated with later childhood behavioural difficulties. Children who scored below average on the McCarthy scales of cognitive abilities were also reported by their mothers to have more behavioural problems, but the children's behavioural difficulties at four showed no clear links with postnatal depression.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 6 , June 1989 , pp. 818 - 822
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

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