Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T14:55:31.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Billing, A.G. & Moos, R. H. (1983) Comparisons of children of depressed and non-depressed parents: a social-environmental perspective. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 463–486.Google Scholar
Brockington, I. F. & Kumar, R. (1982) Motherhood and Mental Illness. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Brown, G. & Harris, T. (1978) Social Origins of Depression. London: Tavistock.Google ScholarPubMed
Cogill, S. A., Caplan, H. L., Alexandra, H., et al (1986) Impact of maternal postnatal depression on the cognitive development of the young child. British Medical Journal, 292, 1165–1167.Google Scholar
Cooper, S. F., Leach, C., Stover, D., et al (1977) The children of psychiatric patients: clinical findings. British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 514–522.Google Scholar
Cox, A. D., Puckering, C., Pound, A., et al (1987) The impact of maternal depression in young children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 917–928.Google Scholar
Emery, R. E. (1982) Interparental conflict and the children of discord and divorce. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 310–330.Google Scholar
Ghodsian, M., Zajicek, E. & Wolkind, S. (1984) A longitudinal study of maternal depression and child behaviour problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25, 91–109.Google Scholar
Herbert, M., Sluckin, W. & Sluckin, A. (1982) Mother-to-infant ‘bonding’. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 23, 205–221.Google Scholar
Kumar, R. & Robson, K. (1984) A prospective study of emotional disorders in child bearing women. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 35–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Livingood, A. B., Daen, P. & Smith, B. (1983) The depressed mother as a source of stimulation for her infant. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39, 369–375.Google Scholar
McCarthy, D. (1972) Manual for the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. New York: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Mills, M., Puckering, C., Pound, A., et al (1985) What is it about depressed mothers that influences their children's functioning? In Recent Research in Developmental Psychopathology (ed. Stevenson, J.). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Monograph (suppl. 4). Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Pitt, B. (1968) Atypical depression following childbirth. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 1325–1335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pound, A., Cox, A. D., Puckering, C., et al (1985) The impact of maternal depression on young children. In Recent Research in Developmental Psychopathology (ed. Stevenson, J.). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Monograph (suppl. 4). Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Prechtl, H. F. R. (1967) Neurological sequelae of prenatal and perinatal complications. British Medical Journal, ii 763–767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinton, D. & Rutter, M. (1985) Family pathology and child psychiatric disorders: a four-year prospective study. In Longitudinal Studies in Child Psychology and Psychiatry (ed. Nicol, A. R.), pp. 91–134. Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Richman, N. (1978) Depression in mothers of young children. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 71, 489–493.Google Scholar
Richman, N. & Graham, P. J. (1971) A behavioural screening questionnaire for use with three year old children: preliminary findings. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 12, 5–33.Google Scholar
Richman, N., Stevenson, J. E. & Graham, P. J. (1975) Prevalence of behavioural problems in three year old children: an epidemiological study in a London borough. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 75–78.Google Scholar
Richman, N., Stevenson, J. & Graham, P. J. (1982) Preschool to School: A Behavioural Study. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1966) Children of Sick Parents. An Environmental and Psychiatric Study. Institute of Psychiatry, Maudsley Monographs no. 16. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1985) Family and school influences on cognitive development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 683–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M. & Quinton, D. (1984) Parental psychiatric disorder: effects on children. Psychological Medicine, 14, 853–880.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M., Cox, A., Tupling, C., et al (1975a) Attainment and adjustment in two geographic areas: I. The prevalence of psychiatric disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 493–509.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., Yule, B., Quinton, D., et al (1975b) Attainment and adjustment in two geographic areas: III. Accounting for differences. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 520–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SPSS (1983) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-X) Users Guide. Chicago, Illinois: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., Paykel, E. S. & Klerman, G. L. (1972) The depressed woman as mother. Social Psychiatry, 7, 98–108.Google Scholar
Wrate, R. M., Rooney, A. C., Thomas, P. F., et al (1985) Postnatal depression and child development: a three year follow-up study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 622–627.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uddenberg, N. & Englesson, I. (1978) Prognosis of postpartum mental disturbance. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 58, 201–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.