Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Childhood behavioral inhibition and maternal symptoms of depression
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Eva_Moehler@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Background:
The significance of behavioral inhibition in the second year of life for the development of social phobia in later childhood was the incentive to explore whether maternal postnatal psychopathology is a predictor for behavioral inhibition in the offspring.
Method:
101 mother-infant pairs were recruited from local obstetric units and examined for maternal psychopathology by the Symptom Checklist and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale several times during the first postnatal year. Child behavioral inhibition was assessed at 14 months in a laboratory procedure.
Results:
Postpartum depression at 4 months measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was found to be strongly associated with toddlers' fear score/behavioral inhibition at 14 months. Maternal depressive symptoms assessed by the revised 90-item Symptom Checklist at 6 weeks , 4 and 14 months were found to be related to child inhibition as well.
Conclusions:
Even maternal depression not reaching the level of clinical diagnosis and treatment has an impact on child behavioral development. These data should give rise to further studies on the origins of this relationship, which might be primarily genetic or interactional.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Autism Spectrum Disorder
These core symptoms manifest differently among individuals, ranging from mild to severe. The disorder's complexity extends beyond its clinical presentation, encompassing a diverse range of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural influences.

