Association between subtypes of maternal depression and mother-infant interaction

The current study explores the association between maternal depression in a disaggregated form and qualities of mother-infant interaction using both a variable-oriented and a person-oriented approach. Participants included 1249 mothers and their infants who were part of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development - Study of Early Child Care. Mothers reported their symptoms of depression using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) (Radloff, 1977) when infants were six- and fifteen-months of age. Maternal ratings on individual CES-D items were computed for depression subtypes based on Radloff (1977). Mother-infant interactions during a play task were observed and rated when infants were six- and fifteen-months of age. Symptom subtypes were cluster analyzed using hierarchical and iterative partitioning methods to determine unique symptom cluster groups at each time point. Analyses were conducted with a subsample of mothers identified as depressed based on CES-D scores in addition to analyses with the mothers in the total sample. Results showed that 75% of mothers classified as depressed described symptoms of atypical depression as opposed to melancholic depression. Depression subtypes were modestly predictive of maternal and infant interaction behaviors, but only in the whole sample. In both the depressed subsample and the whole sample, demographic characteristics of the child and family were related to interaction behaviors of the mother and infant. The current study offers a preliminary exploration of disaggregated maternal depression in relation to mother-child interaction during infancy.