POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION: RISK FACTOR FOR INFANTS

研究表明，12%到20%的产后妇女会患上 一种临床上显著的抑郁反应，比 “忧郁症”，严重到足以干扰日常功能，包括 母爱。研究还表明，麻木不仁和反应迟钝 婴儿期早期的育儿方式与社交障碍有关， 认知和动机发展。一个心烦意乱、孤僻的女人 预计不太能满足她的婴儿需求，这表明 母亲抑郁可能是一个潜在的重要风险因素，早期 婴儿期是一个特别脆弱的时期.然而，它的影响 产后抑郁症与母婴关系的关系 仍然需要进行系统的检查。这似乎是一个重要的问题 探索，因为它对初级预防和 早期干预。 在这项拟议的研究中，一组50名中产阶级，已婚，初产 符合修改后的抑郁症研究诊断标准的母亲将 与50名非抑郁产后妇女进行识别和配对。女人 会被观察到在哺乳过程中与婴儿互动 在8周、16周和24周进行面对面互动。课程，严重度， 和母亲抑郁的持续时间将通过访谈和 自我报告措施。此外，母体感染的严重程度和持续时间 症状学将检查与母亲的感知和 婴儿行为的客观测量。最后，婴儿的应对将是 使用融合的措施进行评估，这些措施检查与社会 和非社会环境。 预计抑郁症妇女和她们的婴儿会变得不那么积极 在他们的互动中反应较慢，在他们的 非抑郁的母婴二人组的社交沟通。年的婴儿 抑郁的女性也会表现出更少的参与能力 母亲和较少参与环境挑战。 这项研究的一个目标是确定产后抑郁症是否是一种 将幼儿置于发育风险中的因素。如果是这样，下一个目标是 这项研究计划将制定适当的预防措施 策略既关注女性本身，也关注她们之间的关系 带着他们的婴儿。

Research has demonstrated that from 12% to 20% of postpartum women develop a clinically significant depressive reaction more prolonged than the "blues" and serious enough to interfere with daily functioning, including mothering. Studies indicate as well that insensitive and unresponsive mothering in early infancy is associated with impairments in social, cognitive, and motivational development. A troubled, withdrawn woman would be expected to be less available to meet her infant needs suggesting that maternal depression may be a potentially significant risk factor and early infancy a time of particular vulnerability. However, the effects of postpartum depression on the infant and the infant-mother relationship remain to be examined systematically. This seems an important issue to explore since it has obvious implications for both primary prevention and early intervention. In the proposed study, a group of 50 middle-class, married, primiparous mothers who meet modified Research Diagnostic Criteria for depression will be identified and matched with 50 non-depressed postpartum women. Women will be observed interacting with their infants during feeding and face-to-face interactions at 8, 16, and 24 weeks. The course, severity, and duration of maternal depression will be monitored with interview and self-report measures. Further the severity and duration of maternal symptomatology will be examined in relation to maternal perceptions and objective measures of infant behavior. Finally, infant coping will be assessed with convergent measures which examine engagement with the social and non-social environment. It is expected that depressed women and their infants will be less positive and less responsive in their interactions and less reciprocal in their social communications that non-depressed mother-infant dyads. Infants of depressed women also are expected to show less ability to engage their mothers and less involvement with environmental challenges. A goal of this study is to determine whether postpartum depression is a factor placing young infants at developmental risk. If so, the next goal of this research program will be the development of appropriate prevention strategies focussed both on the women themselves and on their relationship with their infants.