Abstract:
Postpartum depression is an emotional disorder that affects new mothers in the months following the birth of an infant. Little research has explored maternal responsiveness to an infant and the cognitive development of infants over time when the mother experiences postpartum depression. The purpose of this predictive, longitudinal study is to examine the effect of postpartum depression on maternal responsiveness and infants' cognitive development during the first five years of life. Mercer's (1991) Model of Maternal Role Attainment provides the conceptual framework. A convenience sample of 100 women with postpartum depression and 100 women without postpartum depression will be recruited from four hospitals in one Midwestern state. Postpartum depression will be evaluated by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987). The Dyadic Mutuality Code (DMC) (Censullo, 1991) will measure maternal responsiveness. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (B SID and BSID-II) (Bayley, 1969b;1993) and the Ainsworth Strange Situation instrument (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) will measure cognitive development of infants. The study will be approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Ball State University and participating hospitals, and human rights will be protected. All data will be confidential. Participation will be voluntary. Findings of the study may add to what is known about the impact of postpartum depression on the mother-infant relationship and may guide nursing interventions with mothers who suffer from postpartum depression.