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Cited by 530Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Infants of depressed mothers

Tronick, Edward, Reck, Corrina·2009·Harvard Review of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1080/10673220902899714
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Abstract

Depression is the most frequent psychiatric disorder and has long-term, compromising effects on the mother-infant relationship and the child's development. The infant continuously faces a climate of negative affect that disrupts the interactive experience of the infant and the mother. This article presents findings on the impact of maternal depression on the infant affective state and the specific interactive patterns associated with infant affect regulation. Mother-infant interactions were studied using microanalytic, second-by-second methods in the laboratory and also by using naturalistic home observations. The empirical findings highlight the impact of maternal depression on the infant affective state and on the capacity for repairing states of miscoordination. The impact is seen not only in severely and acutely depressed mothers, but in mothers who have only high levels of depressive symptoms. These infants develop negative affective states that bias their interactions with others and exacerbate their affective problems. Further findings with regard to gender-specific effects show that male infants are more vulnerable than female infants to maternal depression. The findings point out the need for therapeutic interventions that focus on the mother-infant dyad and infant affective state in the treatment of maternal depression.

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Crossref · 10.1080/10673220902899714

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  • Both maternal and paternal depression are significantly associated with negative parenting behaviors, most pronounced for parents of young children, and parent depression leads to maladaptive parent-infant interactions that impede infant affect regulation and later child development.

    “A number of studies have documented significant associations of both maternal55 and paternal56 depression with negative parenting behaviors. These associations are found throughout the age range of children, but most pronounced for the parents of young children. Although only an incomplete understanding exists of pathways, both laboratory and naturalistic studies of parent-infant micro-interact”

    From The Costs of Depression (2012) · cites this paper as [56]

  • Depression was one of the three disorders associated with the highest decrements in perceived health, the other two being severe insomnia and a group of neurological disorders that included epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.

    “Depression was one of the three disorders associated with the highest decrements in perceived health, the other two being severe insomnia and a group of neurological disorders that included epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.”

    From Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission (2022) · cites this paper as [222]

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Authors
Tronick, E., & Reck, C.
Affiliations
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • Heidelberg University (DE)
Corresponding author
Tronick, Edward
ORCID
Tronick, Edward
Venue
Harvard Review of Psychiatry
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2009-04
Volume
17
Issue
2
Pages
147-156
ISSN
1067-3229 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1080/10673220902899714
OpenAlex
W2055490921
Cited by
530
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 64 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 29
FWCI
2.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Harvard Review of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh043398-02, 5r03mh052265-02)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R03 MH52265, R01MH045547, R01 MH45547, 5R01MH43398)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
maternal depression, mother-infant interaction, child development
MeSH terms
Child Development, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Mother-Child Relations, Mothers, Sex Factors, Social Behavior, Infant Behavior, Depression, Postpartum

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