Research reportThoughts of harming infants in depressed and nondepressed mothers
Section snippets
Subjects
The depressed group consisted of 100 mothers who were assessed in the Pregnancy and Infant/Parent Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh. The Center provided outpatient services to predominantly depressed pregnant women and mothers with children under 3 years (see Jennings et al., 1991, for a description). Inclusion criteria for the study were: (a) mothers over 18 years of age with no serious health problems, (b) total score of at least 18 on the Inventory to
Prevalence of thoughts of harm - in both groups of mothers
Table 2 lists the percentage of depressed and control mothers experiencing thoughts of harming their infants. Forty one percent of depressed mothers reported some thoughts of harming their infants. Twenty percent reported only passing thoughts, and 21% reported repeated thoughts, taking precautions, or doing something potentially harmful.
In the control group, only three (6.5%) mothers reported that they had experienced such thoughts; none experienced more than passing thoughts. As expected,
Discussion
The findings of this study indicate that thoughts of harming the infant are common in mothers with postpartum depression. Such thoughts, usually in mild form, are also experienced rarely by mothers without depression. Forty one percent of mothers with depression and seven percent of mothers without depression in our sample reported experiencing these thoughts. These percentages almost surely underestimate the number of mothers experiencing thoughts of harm. Shame and/or fear of being reported
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by NIMH grant R01 MH49419, “Self-efficacy in toddlers of depressed mothers”, to Dr. Jennings and by NIMH grant MH18951.
References (18)
- et al.
The effects of maternal depression on children
Clin Psychol Rev
(1990) - American Psychiatric Association, 1980. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edn. American...
- et al.
Dimensions of individuality in the mother–infant relationship at six months of age
Child Development
(1982) The lived experience of postpartum depression: A phenomenological study
Nursing Res
(1992)- et al.
Early stress and social support influences on mothers' and high-risk infants' functioning in late infancy
Infant Mental Health J
(1986) - et al.
Maternal depression and child development
J Child Psychol Psychiatry
(1994) - et al.
Children of depressed parents: An integrative review
Psychol Bull
(1990) - Fernandez, R.J., 1992. Recent clinical management experience. In: Hamilton, J.A., Harberger P.N. (Eds.), Postpartum...
- Grunebaum, H., Weiss, J.L., Cohler, B.J., Hartman, C.R., Gallant, D.H., 1982. Mentally Ill Mothers and Their Children....
Cited by (160)
Socioeconomic resources moderate the relationship between maternal prenatal obsessive-compulsive symptoms and infant negative affectivity
2023, Infant Behavior and DevelopmentEfficacy of nondrug interventions in perinatal depression: A meta-analysis
2022, Psychiatry ResearchOxytocin effects on the cognition of women with postpartum depression: A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial
2021, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological PsychiatryThe relationship between personality traits and individual factors with perinatal depressive symptoms: a cross-sectional study
2023, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth