Leckman-Westin Emily, Cohen Patricia R, Stueve Ann
New York State Office of Mental Health, 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, New York 12229, USA.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 Sep;50(9):1176-84. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02083.x. Epub 2009 May 26.
Increased behavior problems have been reported in offspring of mothers with depression. In-home observations link maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) and mother-child interaction patterns with toddler behavior problems and examine their persistence into late childhood.
Maternal characteristics (N = 153) and behaviors of two-year-old offspring (N = 215) were assessed in families from a randomly selected population cohort. Maternal self-reported depressive symptoms and observed maternal-toddler interaction patterns were evaluated as risks for toddler problem behaviors. Follow-up CBCL assessments about a decade later assessed persistence of effects identified in the toddler data.
Maternal negativity toward her toddler was related to toddler problems, regardless of maternal depressive symptoms. MDS in combination with positive mother-toddler interaction showed only marginal ill effects on toddler offspring and no long-term effects. Depressive symptoms of less responsive/emotion teaching dyads were related to offspring tantrums and to mother and observer rated fearfulness, independent of family contextual risks. Analyses of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) problem scales obtained on these children in late childhood showed persistent effects similar to those shown at the younger age.
In sum, these findings suggest that for mothers with high levels of depressive symptoms, demonstrations of affection and responsiveness to toddler offspring may mitigate both current and long-term consequences on offspring behavior.
有报道称，患有抑郁症的母亲的后代出现行为问题的情况有所增加。家庭观察将母亲的抑郁症状（MDS）以及母婴互动模式与幼儿行为问题联系起来，并研究这些问题在童年后期是否持续存在。
在一个随机选取的人群队列中的家庭里，对母亲的特征（N = 153）和两岁后代的行为（N = 215）进行了评估。母亲自我报告的抑郁症状以及观察到的母婴互动模式被评估为幼儿问题行为的风险因素。大约十年后的随访CBCL评估对幼儿数据中确定的影响的持续性进行了评估。
无论母亲的抑郁症状如何，母亲对幼儿的消极态度都与幼儿问题有关。MDS与积极的母婴互动相结合，对幼儿后代仅显示出轻微的不良影响，且没有长期影响。反应较慢/情绪教导二元组的抑郁症状与后代发脾气以及母亲和观察者评定的恐惧有关，与家庭背景风险无关。对这些儿童在童年后期获得的儿童行为清单（CBCL）问题量表的分析显示，其持续影响与幼儿期相似。
总之，这些发现表明，对于抑郁症状严重的母亲来说，对幼儿后代表现出关爱和反应可能会减轻对后代行为的当前和长期影响。
