Maternal Postpartum Depression Increases Vulnerability for Toddler Behavior Problems through Infant Cortisol Reactivity

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
Jamie M LawlerMaria Muzik

Abstract

The current study examined the role of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reactivity (a physiological indicator of stress) in early infancy as a mediator of the relationship between maternal postpartum depression and toddler behavior problems. Participants were 137 at-risk mothers and their children participating in a longitudinal study of intergenerational transmission of risk. Mothers' depression was measured five times during the infants' first 18 months. Infant cortisol was collected during a social stressor (the still-face paradigm) when infants were 6 months old, and mothers reported on toddlers' internalizing and externalizing symptoms at 18 months. Among this sample of high-risk mother-infant dyads, early postpartum depression predicted atypical infant cortisol reactivity at 6 months, which mediated the effect of maternal depression on increased toddler behavior problems. Clinical implications are discussed.

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Citations

Aug 1, 2020·Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review·Sherryl H GoodmanChristine Youngwon Kim
Feb 11, 2021·Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology·Maiken PontoppidanSihu K Klest
Oct 5, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Joshua JuvrudGustaf Gredebäck

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