Low-level depressive symptoms reduce maternal support for child cognitive development

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between low-level depressive symptoms in mothers and their support for child cognitive development.

Participants included 913 low-income mothers of preschool-age children who were screened for maternal depression and interviewed about support for learning in the child's home environment.

Of the 770 mothers in the analysis, 21.5% reported low-level depressive symptoms (below the cutoff on the screening tool indicating clinically elevated symptoms). Logistic regression analyses revealed that children of mothers with low-level depressive symptoms were significantly less likely to experience six of seven types of support for learning compared with children of mothers with no depressive symptoms.

Results suggest that children whose mothers experience even low-level depressive symptoms are less likely to receive important supports for cognitive development and school readiness, pointing to the need for screening and interventions to address maternal depression at all levels of severity.