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Updated: Apr 20, 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
Rumination decreases parental problem-solving effectiveness in dysphoric postnatal mothers
Heather A O'Mahen1, Alex Boyd1, Caroline Gashe1
1University of Exeter, Mood Disorders Centre, Exeter, EX4 0AD, England, UK.
Background:
Postnatal depression is associated with poorer parenting quality, but there are few studies examining maternal-specific cognitive processes that may impact on parenting quality. In this study, we examined the impact of rumination on parental problem-solving effectiveness in dysphoric and non-dysphoric postnatal mothers.
Methods:
Fifty-nine mothers with a infant aged 12 months and under, 20 of whom had a Beck Depression Score II (BDI-II) score ≥ 14, and 39 who scored less than 14 on the BDI-II were randomly assigned to either a rumination or distraction condition. Problem-solving effectiveness was assessed post-induction with the "Postnatal Parental Problem-Solving Task" (PPST), which was adapted from the Means Ends Problem-solving task. Parental problem-solving confidence was also assessed.
Results:
Dysphoric ruminating mothers exhibited poorer problem-solving effectiveness and poorer confidence regarding their problem-solving compared to dysphoric distracting, non-dysphoric distracting, and non-dysphoric ruminating mothers.
Limitations:
A self-report measure of depressed mood was used.
Conclusions:
Rumination may be a key mechanism associated with both depressive mood and maternal parenting quality during the postnatal period.
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