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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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Continuity of paternal social support and depressive symptoms among new mothers

Leann E Smith1, Kimberly S Howard

  • 1Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705, USA. lsmith@waisman.wisc.edu

Journal of Family Psychology : JFP : Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)
|October 16, 2008
PubMed

The present study examined trajectories of paternal support and maternal depressive symptoms over the first two years after the birth of a child. First-time mothers (N = 582) were assessed 6 times during the first 24 months of their child's life. At each assessment they reported on a number of ways in which their child's father provided support, and at three of the assessments, their own depressive symptomatology was assessed. Latent growth curve models revealed that while higher support was related to lower depressive symptomatology, both paternal support and maternal depression tended to decrease over time. The relationships between paternal support and maternal depression are complex and suggest the importance of considering the multiple ways that parents influence one another over time.

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