Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms
Postpartum parental depression, even of mild intensity and short duration, has negative consequences on child development, including increased externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Studies revealed that the links between parental depression and child development are mediated by parenting difficu...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01912/full |
| _version_ | 1830512446259855360 |
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| author | Hervé Tissot Nicolas Favez France Frascarolo Jean-Nicolas Despland |
| author_facet | Hervé Tissot Nicolas Favez France Frascarolo Jean-Nicolas Despland |
| author_sort | Hervé Tissot |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Postpartum parental depression, even of mild intensity and short duration, has negative consequences on child development, including increased externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Studies revealed that the links between parental depression and child development are mediated by parenting difficulties. On the other hand, the mediating role of problematic family-level relationships, such as low coparenting support and high conflict between the parents, has rarely been considered, although coparenting difficulties have been linked with both increased depressive symptoms in parents and increased symptoms in toddlers. In the present study, we proposed testing a comprehensive mediation model linking parental depression, coparenting, and child symptoms. At 3 months postpartum, a convenience sample of 69 parental couples completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. In addition, we assessed levels of coparenting support and conflict during a mother–father–infant play situation, the Lausanne Trilogue Play. At 18 months postpartum, both parents assessed child symptoms with the Symptom Checklist Questionnaire. The results showed that coparenting support mediated the links between parental depressive symptoms and child symptoms, but only for mothers: Maternal depressive symptoms were linked with lower coparenting support, which in turn predicted increased psychofunctional symptoms and behavior problems assessed by mothers. Although coparenting conflict behaviors were not predicted by parents’ depressive symptoms, higher conflict was unexpectedly linked with fewer behavior problems assessed by both parents. The present study allowed us to unveil complex pathways between mild parental mood disturbances, family-level relationships, and child development in the first months of the child’s life. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:28:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ddea30a82124868ab67cbcf7a4139ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:28:18Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ddea30a82124868ab67cbcf7a4139ba2022-12-21T18:41:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782016-12-01710.3389/fpsyg.2016.01912219094Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s SymptomsHervé Tissot0Nicolas Favez1France Frascarolo2Jean-Nicolas Despland3University of GenevaUniversity of GenevaLausanne University Hospital and University of LausanneLausanne University Hospital and University of LausannePostpartum parental depression, even of mild intensity and short duration, has negative consequences on child development, including increased externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Studies revealed that the links between parental depression and child development are mediated by parenting difficulties. On the other hand, the mediating role of problematic family-level relationships, such as low coparenting support and high conflict between the parents, has rarely been considered, although coparenting difficulties have been linked with both increased depressive symptoms in parents and increased symptoms in toddlers. In the present study, we proposed testing a comprehensive mediation model linking parental depression, coparenting, and child symptoms. At 3 months postpartum, a convenience sample of 69 parental couples completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. In addition, we assessed levels of coparenting support and conflict during a mother–father–infant play situation, the Lausanne Trilogue Play. At 18 months postpartum, both parents assessed child symptoms with the Symptom Checklist Questionnaire. The results showed that coparenting support mediated the links between parental depressive symptoms and child symptoms, but only for mothers: Maternal depressive symptoms were linked with lower coparenting support, which in turn predicted increased psychofunctional symptoms and behavior problems assessed by mothers. Although coparenting conflict behaviors were not predicted by parents’ depressive symptoms, higher conflict was unexpectedly linked with fewer behavior problems assessed by both parents. The present study allowed us to unveil complex pathways between mild parental mood disturbances, family-level relationships, and child development in the first months of the child’s life.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01912/fullMaternal DepressioncoparentingPaternal depressionLausanne Trilogue Playchild symptoms |
| spellingShingle | Hervé Tissot Nicolas Favez France Frascarolo Jean-Nicolas Despland Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms Frontiers in Psychology Maternal Depression coparenting Paternal depression Lausanne Trilogue Play child symptoms |
| title | Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms |
| title_full | Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms |
| title_fullStr | Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms |
| title_short | Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators Between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms |
| title_sort | coparenting behaviors as mediators between postpartum parental depressive symptoms and toddler s symptoms |
| topic | Maternal Depression coparenting Paternal depression Lausanne Trilogue Play child symptoms |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01912/full |
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