Associations of parental postpartum depression with child mental health: A mediation analysis

Maternal and paternal postpartum depression are important indicators of children's mental health. However, few studies have tested the putatively distinct mechanisms via which they are associated with child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We sought to differentiate the mediating role of maternal versus paternal family processes in these associations. We analyzed data (n = 1,694) from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a representative 1997-1998 birth cohort. Mothers and fathers self-reported their depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms were reported by parents, teachers, and children using the Social Behavior Questionnaire (ages 3.5-13 years) and self-reported by adolescents using the Mental Health and Social Inadaptation Assessment for Adolescents (ages 15-17 years). Parent-reported parenting practices and family functioning at 1.5 and 2.5 years and marital satisfaction at 2.5 years were tested as mediators. Using structural equation modeling, we found that postpartum depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers were differentially associated with child/adolescent mental health. Maternal symptoms were associated with increased child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms via increased maternal coercive parenting practices (21.7%), lower paternal marital satisfaction (4.1%), and reduced family functioning (21.2%). Paternal symptoms were associated with increased child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms via increased paternal coercive parenting practices (8.4%), decreased paternal marital satisfaction (23.4%), and reduced family functioning (54.2%). The distinct maternal and paternal mechanisms illustrate how parental depression is differentially associated with child mental health and highlight a need to understand their relative significance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).