Infant mental health and variability of parental depression symptoms

Objective: To examine the course of mothers' depression symptoms in association with child and family functioning beyond that explained by diagnostic status. Method: A longitudinal high-risk design with 16 months of course-of-illness follow-up was used, Structured clinical and family interviews, direct observation of child social-emotional competence, and parent reports of child behavior problems were included. Results: Parameters of maternal symptom patterns across time were associated with child and family functioning. Most of these effects remained when presence/absence of major depression diagnosis was covaried. Conclusions: The trajectory of symptoms over time is important to consider in studies of children at risk and may also help to inform how illness in infancy and early childhood is conceptualized.