Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T13:21:06.925Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maternal and paternal trajectories of depressive symptoms predict family risk and children's emotional and behavioral problems after the birth of a sibling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2018

Brenda L. Volling Open the ORCID record for Brenda L. Volling [Opens in a new window] ,
Tianyi Yu ,
Richard Gonzalez ,
Elizabeth Tengelitsch  and
Matthew M. Stevenson
Brenda L. Volling*
Affiliation:
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Tianyi Yu
Affiliation:
Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Richard Gonzalez
Affiliation:
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Elizabeth Tengelitsch
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Matthew M. Stevenson
Affiliation:
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Brenda L. Volling, University of Michigan, Department of Psychology, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; E-mail: volling@umich.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The current study examined trajectories of maternal and paternal depression in the year following the birth of an infant sibling, and relations with family risk factors and firstborn children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Latent class growth analysis was conducted on 231 families in a longitudinal investigation (prebirth and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months postbirth) and revealed four classes of families: both mother and father low in depressive symptoms (40.7%); mother high–father low (25.1%); father high–mother low (24.7%), and both mother and father high (9.5%). Families with both mothers and fathers high on depressive symptoms were higher on marital negativity, parenting stress, and children's internalizing and externalizing problems, and lower on marital positivity and parental efficacy than other classes. Children, parents, and marital relationships were more problematic in families with fathers higher on depressive symptoms than in families in which mothers were higher, indicating the significant role of paternal support for firstborn children undergoing the transition to siblinghood. Maternal and paternal depression covaried with an accumulation of family risks over time, no doubt increasing the likelihood of children's problematic adjustment after the birth of their infant sibling.

Keywords

birth of a siblingchildren's behavior problemsfamily riskmaternal depressionpaternal depression
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 2019 , pp. 1307 - 1324
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA Preschool Forms and Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth and Families.Google Scholar
Akaike, H. (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika, 52, 317–332. doi:10.1007/BF02294359Google Scholar
Apter-Levi, Y., Pratt, M., Vakart, A., Feldman, M., Zagoory-Sharon, O., & Feldman, R. (2016). Maternal depression across the first years of life compromises child psychosocial adjustment: Relations to child HPA-axis functioning. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 64, 47–56. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.11.006Google Scholar
Ashman, S. B., Dawson, G., & Panagiotides, H. (2008). Trajectories of maternal depression over 7 years: Relations with child psychophysiology and behavior and role of contextual risks. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 55–77. doi:10.1017/S0954579408000035Google Scholar
Baydar, N., Greek, A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1997). A longitudinal study of the effects of the birth of a sibling during the first 6 years of life. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 939–956. doi:10.2307/353794Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1997). Beck Depression Inventory (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Beck, C. T., Gable, R. K., Sakala, C., & Declercq, E. R. (2011). Postpartum depressive symptomatology: Results from a two-stage US national survey. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 56, 427–435. doi:10.1111/j.1542-2011.2011.00090.xGoogle Scholar
Braiker, H. B., & Kelley, H. H. (1979). Conflict in the development of close relationships. In Burgess, R. L. & Huston, T. L. (Eds.), Social exchange in developing relationships (pp. 135–168). New YorK: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Cameron, E. E., Sedov, I. D., & Tomfohr-Madsen, L. M. (2016). Prevalence of paternal depression in pregnancy and the postpartum: An updated meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 206, 189–203. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.07.044Google Scholar
Campis, L. K., Lyman, R. D., & Prentice-Dunn, S. (1986). The Parental Locus of Control Scale: Development and validation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 15, 260–267. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp1503_10Google Scholar
Carro, M. G., Grant, K. E., Gotlib, I. H., & Compas, B. E. (1993). Postpartum depression and child development: An investigation of mothers and fathers as sources of risk and resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 567–579. doi:10.1017/S0954579400006167Google Scholar
Connell, A. M., & Goodman, S. H. (2002). The association between psychopathology in fathers versus mothers and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 746–773. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.746Google Scholar
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (2003). Understanding families as systems. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 193–196.Google Scholar
Coyne, J. C., Thompson, R., & Palmer, S. C. (2002). Marital quality, coping with conflict, marital complaints, and affection in couples with a depressed wife. Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 26–37. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.16.1.26Google Scholar
Crnic, K. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (1990). Minor parenting stresses with young children. Child Development, 61, 1628–1637. doi:10.2307/1130770Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., Keller, P. S., & Davies, P. T. (2005). Towards a family process model of maternal and paternal depressive symptoms: Exploring multiple relations with child and family functioning. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 479–489. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00368.xGoogle Scholar
Davis, R. N., Davis, M. M., Freed, G. L., & Clark, S. J. (2011). Fathers' depression related to positive and negative parenting behaviors with 1-year-old children. Pediatrics, 127, 612–618.Google Scholar
deMontigny, F., Girard, M.-E., Lacharité, C., Dubeau, D., & Devault, A. (2013). Psychosocial factors associated with paternal postnatal depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 150, 44–49. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.048Google Scholar
Dietz, L. J., Jennings, K. D., Kelley, S. A., & Marshal, M. (2009). Maternal depression, paternal psychopathology, and toddlers' behavior problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38, 48–61. doi:10.1080/15374410802575362Google Scholar
Don, B. P., & Mickelson, K. D. (2012). Paternal postpartum depression: The role of maternal postpartum depression, spousal support, and relationship satisfaction. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 1, 323–334. doi:10.1037/a0029148Google Scholar
Duncan, T. E., Duncan, S. C., Strycker, L. A., Li, F., & Alpert, A. (1999). An introduction to latent variable growth curve modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Dunn, J., & Kendrick, C. (1982). Siblings: Love, envy and understanding. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Edhborg, M., Matthiesen, A. S., Lundh, W., & Widström, A. M. (2005). Some early indicators for depressive symptoms and bonding 2 months postpartum—A study of new mothers and fathers. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 8, 221–231. doi:10.1007/s00737-005-0097-5Google Scholar
Edward, K., Castle, D., Mills, C., Davis, L., & Casey, J. (2015). An integrative review of paternal depression. American Journal of Men's Health, 9, 26–34. doi:10.1177/1557988314526614Google Scholar
Feiring, C., Lewis, M., & Jaskir, J. (1983). Birth of a sibling: Effect on mother–first born child interaction. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 4, 190–195. doi:10.1097/00004703-198309000-00008Google Scholar
Fisher, S. D., Brock, R. L., O'Hara, M. W., Kopelman, R., & Stuart, S. (2015). Longitudinal contribution of maternal and paternal depression to toddler behaviors: Interparental conflict and later depression as mediators. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 4, 61–73. doi:10.1037/cfp0000037Google Scholar
Gavin, N. I., Gaynes, B. N., Lohr, K. N., Meltzer-Brody, S., Gartlehner, G., & Swinson, T. (2005). Perinatal depression: A systemic review of prevalence and incidence. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 106, 1071–1073.Google Scholar
Giallo, R., Cooklin, A., Wade, C., D'Esposito, F., & Nicholson, J. M. (2013). Fathers' postnatal mental health and child well-being at age five: The mediating role of parenting behavior. Journal of Family Issues, 20, 1–20.Google Scholar
Giallo, R., Woolhouse, H., Gartland, D., Hiscock, H., & Brown, S. (2015). The emotional–behavioural functioning of children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms across pregnancy and early childhood: A prospective Australian pregnancy cohort study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 1233–1244. doi:10.1007/s00787-014-0672-2Google Scholar
Goodman, S. H., & Gotlib, I. H. (1999). Risk for psychopathology in the children of depressed mothers: A developmental model for understanding mechanisms of transmission. Psychological Review, 106, 458–490. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.3.458Google Scholar
Goodman, S. H., Lusby, C. M., Thompson, K., Newport, D. J., & Stowe, Z. N. (2014). Maternal depression in association with fathers' involvement with their infants: Spillover or compensation/buffering? Infant Mental Health Journal, 35, 495–508. doi:10.1002/imhj.21469Google Scholar
Goodman, S. H., Rouse, M. H., Connell, A. M., Broth, M. R., Hall, C. M., & Heyward, D. (2011). Maternal depression and child psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical and Child Family Psychology Review, 14, 1–27. doi:10.1007/s10567-010-0080-1Google Scholar
Gottlieb, L. N., & Mendelson, M. J. (1990). Parental support and firstborn girls' adaptation to the birth of a sibling. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 11, 29–48. doi:10.1016/0193-3973(90)90030-NGoogle Scholar
Grace, S. L., Evindar, A., & Stewart, D. E. (2003). The effect of postpartum depression on child cognitive development and behavior: A review and critical analysis of the literature. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 6, 263–274. doi:10.1007/s00737-003-0024-6Google Scholar
Gullicks, J. N., & Crase, S. J. (1993). Sibling behavior with a newborn: Parents' expectations and observations. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 22, 438–444.Google Scholar
Gutierrez-Galve, L., Stein, A., Hanington, L., Heron, J., & Ramchandani, P. (2015). Paternal depression in the postnatal period and child development: Mediators and moderators. Pediatrics, 135, e339–e347. doi:10.1542/peds.2014-2411Google Scholar
Guyon-Harris, K., Huth-Bocks, A., Lauterbach, D., & Janisse, H. (2016). Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms across the birth of a child: Associations with toddler emotional development. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 19, 153–165. doi:10.1007/s00737-015-0546-8Google Scholar
Hindle, D., & Sherwin-White, S. (2014). Sibling matters: A psychoanalytic, developmental, and systemic approach. London: Karnac Books.Google Scholar
Hossain, Z., Field, T., Gonzalez, J., Malphurs, J., Del Valle, C., & Pickens, J. (1994). Infants of “depressed” mothers interact better with their nondepressed fathers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 15, 348–357. doi:10.1002/1097-0355(199424)15:4<348::AID-IMHJ2280150404>3.0.CO;2-Y3.0.CO;2-Y>Google Scholar
Jacob, T., & Johnson, S. L. (1997). Parent–child interaction among depressed fathers and mothers: Impact on child functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 11, 391–409. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.11.4.391Google Scholar
Ji, S., Long, Q., Newport, D. J., Na, H., Knight, B., Zach, E. B., … Stowe, Z. N. (2011). Validity of depression rating scales during pregnancy and the postpartum period: Impact of trimester and parity. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 45, 213–219. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.05.017Google Scholar
Johnson, S. L., & Jacob, T. (1997). Marital interactions of depressed men and women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 15–23. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.65.1.15Google Scholar
Kane, P., & Garber, J. (2009). Parental depression and child externalizing and internalizing symptoms: Unique effects of fathers’ symptoms and perceived conflict as a mediator. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 465–472. doi:10.1007/s10826-008-9250-xGoogle Scholar
Kolak, A. M., & Volling, B. L. (2013). Coparenting moderates the association between firstborn children's temperament and problem behavior across the transition to siblinghood. Journal of Family Psychology, 27, 355–364.Google Scholar
Kreppner, K. (1988). Changes in parent-child relationships with the birth of the second child. Marriage and Family Review, 12, 157–181. doi:10.1300/J002v12n03_09Google Scholar
Kvalevaag, A. L., Ramchandani, P. G., Hove, O., Eberhard-Gran, M., Assmus, J., Havik, O. E., … Biringer, E. (2015). Parents’ prenatal mental health and emotional, behavioral and social development in their children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 46, 874–883. doi:10.1007/s10578-014-0527-6Google Scholar
Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Ungerer, J., & Waters, B. (2000). Paternal and maternal depressed mood during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 60, 75–85. doi:10.1016/S0165-0327(99)00159-7Google Scholar
Mezulis, A. H., Hyde, J. S., & Clark, R. (2004). Father involvement moderates the effect of maternal depression during a child's infancy on child behavior problems in kindergarten. Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 575–588. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.18.4.575Google Scholar
Minuchin, P. (1985). Families and individual development: Provocations from the field of family therapy. Child Development, 56, 289–302.Google Scholar
Mitchell, J. (2013). The law of the mother: Sibling trauma and the brotherhood of war. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 21, 145–159.Google Scholar
Muthen, L. K., & Muthen, B. O. (1998–2012). MPlus user's guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Author.Google Scholar
Nelson, J. A., O'Brien, M., Blankson, A. N., Calkins, S. D., & Keane, S. P. (2009). Family stress and parental responses to children's negative emotions: Tests of the spillover, crossover, and compensatory hypotheses. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 671–679. doi:10.1037/a0015977Google Scholar
Oh, W., Volling, B. L., & Gonzalez, R. (2015). Trajectories of children's social interactions with their infant sibling in the first year: A multidimensional approach. Journal of Family Psychology, 29, 119–129. doi:10.1037/fam0000051Google Scholar
Parfitt, Y., Pike, A., & Ayers, S. (2013). The impact of parents’ mental health on parent–baby interaction: A prospective study. Infant Behavior & Development, 36, 599–608. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.06.003Google Scholar
Paulson, J. F., & Bazemore, S. D. (2010). Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 303, 1961–1969. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.605Google Scholar
Paulson, J. F., Bazemore, S. D., Goodman, J. H., & Leiferman, J. A. (2016). The course and interrelationship of maternal and paternal perinatal depression. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 19, 655–663. doi:10.1007/s00737-016-0598-4Google Scholar
Pruett, M. K., Pruett, K. D., Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (2017). Enhancing paternal engagement in a coparenting paradigm. Child Development Perspectives, 11, 245–250. doi:10.1111/cdep.12239Google Scholar
Ramchandani, P., Stein, A., Evans, J., & O'Connor, T. G. (2005). Paternal depression in the postnatal period and child development: A prospective population study. Lancet, 365, 2201–2205. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66778-5Google Scholar
Ramchandani, P., Stein, A., O'Connor, T. G., Heron, J., Murray, L., & Evans, J. (2008). Depression in men in the postnatal period and later child psychopathology: A population cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 390–398. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e31816429c2Google Scholar
Reuben, J. D., & Shaw, D. S. (2015). Resilience in the offspring of depressed mothers: Variation across risk, domains, and time. Clinical Child and Family Psycholgy Review, 18, 300–327. doi:10.1007/s10567-015-0195-5Google Scholar
Roberts, S. L., Bushnell, J. A., Collings, S. C., & Purdie, G. L. (2006). Psychological health of men with partners who have post-partum depression. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 704–711. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1614.2006.01871.xGoogle Scholar
Rushton, J. P., Brainerd, C. J., & Pressley, M. (1983). Behavioral development and construct validity: The principle of aggregation. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 18–38. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.94.1.18Google Scholar
Schwarz, G. (1978). Estimating the dimension of a model. Annals of Statistics, 6, 461–464. doi:10.1214/aos/1176344136Google Scholar
Sclove, S. L. (1987). Application of model-selection criteria to some problems in multivariate analysis. Psychometrika, 52, 333–343. doi:10.1007/BF02294360Google Scholar
Song, J., & Volling, B. L. (2015). Coparenting and children's temperament predict firstborns' cooperation in the care of an infant sibling. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(1), 130–135. doi:10.1037/fam0000052Google Scholar
Steer, R. A., Ball, R., Ranieri, W. F., & Beck, A. T. (1997). Further evidence for the construct validity of the Beck Depression Inventory-II with psychiatric outpatients. Psychological Reports, 80, 443–446. doi:10.2466/pr0.1997.80.2.443Google Scholar
Steer, R. A., Scholl, T. O., & Beck, A. T. (1990). Revised Beck Depression Inventory scores of inner-city adolescents: Pre- and postpartum. Psychological Reports, 66, 315–320. doi:10.2466/PR0.66.1.315-320Google Scholar
Stewart, R. B. Jr. (1990). The second child: Family transition and adjustment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Su, K.-P., Chiu, T.-H., Huang, C.-L., Ho, M., Lee, C.-C., Wu, P.-L., … Pariante, C. M. (2007). Different cutoff points for different trimesters? The use of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Beck Depression Inventory to screen for depression in pregnant Taiwanese women. General Hospital Psychiatry, 29, 436–441. doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2007.05.005Google Scholar
Teti, D. M., Sakin, J. W., Kucera, E., Corns, K. M., & Eiden, R. D. (1996). And baby makes four: Predictors of attachment security among preschool-age firstborns during the transition to siblinghood. Child Development, 67, 579–596. doi:10.2307/1131833Google Scholar
Thomason, E., Volling, B. L., Flynn, H. A., McDonough, S. C., Marcus, S. M., Lopez, J. F., & Vazquez, D. M. (2014). Parenting stress and depressive symptoms in postpartum mothers: Bidirectional or unidirectional effects? Infant Behavior & Development, 37, 406–415. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2014.05.009Google Scholar
Thorp, S. R., Krause, E. D., Cukrowicz, K. C., & Lynch, T. R. (2004). Postpartum partner support, demand-withdraw communication, and maternal stress. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 362–369. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00153.xGoogle Scholar
Tietz, A., Zietlow, A. L., & Reck, C. (2014). Maternal bonding in mothers with postpartum anxiety disorder: The crucial role of subclinical depressive symptoms and maternal avoidance behaviour. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 17, 433–442. doi:10.1007/s00737-014-0423-xGoogle Scholar
Vänskä, M., Punamäki, R.-L., Tolvanen, A., Lindblom, J., Flykt, M., Unkila-Kallio, L., … Tiitinen, A. (2017). Paternal mental health trajectory classes and early fathering experiences: Prospective study on a normative and formerly infertile sample. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41, 570–580.Google Scholar
Vismara, L., Rollè, L., Agostini, F., Sechi, C., Fenaroli, V., Molgora, S., … Tambelli, R. (2016). Perinatal parenting stress, anxiety, and depression outcomes in first-time mothers and fathers: A 3- to 6-months postpartum follow-up study. Frontiers in Psychology, 7.Google Scholar
Volling, B. L. (2012). Family transitions following the birth of a sibling: An empirical review of changes in the firstborn's adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 183, 497–528. doi:10.1037/a0026921Google Scholar
Volling, B. L., Gonzalez, R., Oh, W., Song, J.-H., Yu, T., Rosenberg, L., … Stevenson, M. M. (2017). Developmental trajectories of children's adjustment across the transition to siblinghood: Pre-birth predictors and sibling outcomes at one year. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82 (3, Serial No. 326).Google Scholar
Volling, B. L., Oh, W., Gonzalez, R., Kuo, P. X., & Yu, T. (2015). Patterns of marital relationship change across the transition from one child to two. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 4, 177–197. doi:10.1037/cfp0000046Google Scholar
Wilford, B., & Andrews, C. (1986). Sibling preparation classes for preschool children. Maternal-Child Nursing Journal, 15, 171–185.Google Scholar
Wilson, S., & Durbin, C. E. (2010). Effects of paternal depression on fathers' parenting behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 167–180. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.10.007Google Scholar
Zelkowitz, P., & Milet, T. H. (2001). The course of postpartum psychiatric disorders in women and their partners. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189, 575–582. doi:10.1097/00005053-200109000-00002Google Scholar