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Role of Maternal Depression on Child Development: A Prospective Analysis from Pregnancy to Early Childhood

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Abstract

Few studies have examined how different characteristics of maternal depression may be associated with developmental outcomes among low-income children. The current study prospectively examined whether the timing (pregnancy vs. early postpartum), severity, and chronicity of maternal depression were associated with child cognitive and social-emotional development in two cohorts of primarily low-income Latinx immigrant mothers and their children. Maternal depression was assessed during pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum. Child development was assessed up to 5 years postpartum. Results showed that maternal depression experienced during pregnancy was associated with lower child cognitive development, particularly among girls. Additionally, both the timing (pregnancy and early postpartum) and severity/chronicity of maternal depression were each independently associated with lower child social-emotional development. These findings highlight the need for early prevention interventions to help offset the adverse effects of maternal depression on child developmental outcomes in this at-risk population.

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Acknowledgements

Guido G. Urizar Jr. is in the Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach. Ricardo F. Muñoz is Director of the Institute for International Internet Interventions for Health and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology, Palo Alto University and Professor of Psychology, Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital.

Funding

This study was conducted at San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF School of Medicine and was supported by a University of California Mexico-U.S. (UC MEXUS) Research Grant (UC MEXUS SCR 43; Ricardo F. Muñoz & Guido G. Urizar Jr., Co-PIs). Additional support was provided by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 596056, Ricardo F. Muñoz, PI), the University of California Office of the President’s Committee on Latino Research for the UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital Latino Mental Health Research Program (Ricardo F. Muñoz, PI), the Research and Evaluation Allocation Committee of the UCSF School of Medicine, and by private donations from Dr. Cloyce L. Duncan and Dr. Gwendolyn Evans for the Mamás y Bebés/Mothers and Babies: Mood and Health Project. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Huynh-Nhu (Mimi) Le, Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Paula Valenzuela, Mercy Somera, Rosario Sotelo, and Theresita Solomon and the rest of the Latino Mental Health Research Program team for their instrumental support with data collection. At the time this study was conducted, G. Urizar was funded as a postdoctoral fellow by the UCSF Clinical Psychology Training Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840-0901, USA

    Guido G. Urizar Jr.

  2. Department of Psychology and Institute for International Internet Interventions for Health, Palo Alto University, 1791 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Ricardo F. Muñoz

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  1. Guido G. Urizar Jr.
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Correspondence to Guido G. Urizar Jr..

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Urizar, G.G., Muñoz, R.F. Role of Maternal Depression on Child Development: A Prospective Analysis from Pregnancy to Early Childhood. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 53, 502–514 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01138-1

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