Parental Depression Following Their Child's Birth Can Result In Troubling Behaviors As A Toddler

A parent's depression during their child's first years of life can result in the development of troubling behaviors in their little one, according to a new study by researchers at Northwestern Medicine. Researchers found that this could increase the risk of such problem behaviors as hitting, anxiety, lying and sadness during a tremendously critical life period.

"Father's emotions affect their children," said Sheehan Fisher, lead author of the study, in a news release. "New fathers should be screened and treated for postpartum depression, just as we do for mothers."

Sheehan is an instructor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a psychologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He conducted this study while he was a researcher at the University of Iowa.

He notes that parents who are depressed may not make as much eye contact with their children or smile at him or her than those who are not. The more disengaged parents are from their child, the greater the risk he or she is of being unable to form close attachments and have healthy emotions.

"Depression affects the way people express emotions, and it can cause their behavior to change," Sheehan added.

Previous stories have indicated that fathers, more so than mothers, are at a greater risk of depression following the birth of a child than at any other time in a man's life. Furthermore, the study showed that a father's mood during postpartum depression can result in an important trajectory to his depression three years following and be particularly significant for predicting his child's behavior during the toddler years.

For the study, researchers collected data that was part of a cohort of close to 200 couples with 3-year-olds who had been a part of previous depression studies around the time of their child's birth. They were all administered questionnaires that helped researchers gather information regarding their relationship with their partner, as well as their child's internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

The questionnaires were completed by both members of the couple independently and mailed back to the investigators.

Some highlights from the study, courtesy of the release:

• Both maternal and paternal depression levels during toddlerhood were each uniquely associated with child internalizing and externalizing behaviors.
• Parents who reported signs of postpartum depression soon after the birth of their child also showed these signs three years later.
• These findings suggest that both maternal and paternal depression in the postpartum period set the stage for future parental depression.
• Fighting between parents did not contribute to children's bad behaviors as much as having a depressed parent did.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice.