Evidence-based interventions for depressed mothers and their young children

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sherryl H Goodman, Emory University; Judy Garber, Vanderbilt University
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12732
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Child Development
• ISSN: 0009-3920
• Volume: 88
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 368
• End Page: 377
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported in part by grants from NIMH (R01MH100258; R01MH64735); and a Hobbs Discovery Grant, Vanderbilt University Central.
• Keywords: Psychotherapy; Infant; Mothers; Child of Impaired Parents; Mother-Child Relations; Depressive Disorder, Major; Evidence-Based Practice; Humans; Child, Preschool; Parenting
• Research Categories: Psychology, Developmental; Health Sciences, Mental Health; Health Sciences, Human Development

Abstract

Depression in mothers is a significant risk factor for the development of maladjustment in children. This article focuses on modifiable risk processes linking depression in mothers and adaptation in their young children (i.e., infancy through preschool age). First, the authors present evidence of the efficacy of interventions for reducing the primary source of risk: maternal depression. Second, they describe a central mechanism—parenting behaviors—underlying the relation between maternal depression and children’s adjustment. Third, the authors recommend two different integrated interventions that successfully treat mothers’ depression and enhance parenting skills with infants and young children. Finally, the authors note the possible need for supplementary interventions to address severity and comorbidity of mothers’ depression, barriers to engaging in treatment, and the sustainability of program benefits.