Maternal Postnatal Depressive Symptoms and Offspring Emotional and Behavioral Development at Age 7 Years in a U.K. Birth Cohort: The Role of Paternal Involvement

TY - JOUR

T1 - Maternal Postnatal Depressive Symptoms and Offspring Emotional and Behavioral Development at Age 7 Years in a U.K. Birth Cohort

T2 - The Role of Paternal Involvement

AU - Culpin, Iryna

AU - Hammerton, Gemma

AU - Stein, Alan

AU - Bornstein, Marc H.

AU - Tiemeier, Henning

AU - Cadman, Tim

AU - Fredriksen, Eivor

AU - Evans, Jonathan

AU - Miller, Tina

AU - Dermott, Esther

AU - Heron, Jon

AU - Sallis, Hannah M.

AU - Pearson, Rebecca M.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 American Psychological Association Funding Information: The U.K. Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust (217065/Z/19/Z) and the University of Bristol provide core support for the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). This publication is the work of the authors, and Iryna Culpin will serve as guarantor for the contents of this article. This research was funded in whole by the Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship in Humanities and Social Science (212664/Z/18/Z) awarded to Iryna Culpin. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright license to any author accepted manuscript version arising from this submission. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 American Psychological Association

PY - 2023/11/17

Y1 - 2023/11/17

N2 - There is considerable variability in developmental outcomes of children whose mothers experience depression. Few longitudinal studies have examined contributions of paternal involvement in the association between maternal postnatal depression (PND) and offspring development. We examined pathways from maternal PND at 8 weeks (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; total score) to offspring emotional and behavioral development at 7 years (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; total score) through behavioral, affective, and cognitive dimensions of paternal involvement in a U.K.-based birth cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; n = 3,434). Analyses were adjusted for baseline confounders and paternal PND (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; total score) as an intermediate confounder. Maternal PND was strongly associated with offspring development, but this association was not mediated by the combination of all indirect pathways through various dimensions of paternal involvement. Only father–child conflict emerged as a risk factor for adverse offspring development and as a mediator in the association between maternal PND and offspring development (albeit the effect size was small). If found causal, interventions that reduce father–child conflict may reduce the risk of adverse development in offspring of mothers with PND.

AB - There is considerable variability in developmental outcomes of children whose mothers experience depression. Few longitudinal studies have examined contributions of paternal involvement in the association between maternal postnatal depression (PND) and offspring development. We examined pathways from maternal PND at 8 weeks (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; total score) to offspring emotional and behavioral development at 7 years (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; total score) through behavioral, affective, and cognitive dimensions of paternal involvement in a U.K.-based birth cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; n = 3,434). Analyses were adjusted for baseline confounders and paternal PND (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; total score) as an intermediate confounder. Maternal PND was strongly associated with offspring development, but this association was not mediated by the combination of all indirect pathways through various dimensions of paternal involvement. Only father–child conflict emerged as a risk factor for adverse offspring development and as a mediator in the association between maternal PND and offspring development (albeit the effect size was small). If found causal, interventions that reduce father–child conflict may reduce the risk of adverse development in offspring of mothers with PND.

KW - Alspac

KW - Maternal postnatal depression

KW - Offspring development

KW - Paternal involvement

KW - Paternal postnatal depression

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145850737&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1037/dev0001482

DO - 10.1037/dev0001482

M3 - Article

C2 - 36395049

AN - SCOPUS:85145850737

SN - 0012-1649

VL - 59

SP - 770

EP - 785

JO - Developmental Psychology

JF - Developmental Psychology

IS - 4

ER -