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Infants of “depressed” mothers interact better with their nondepressed fathers
Author(s) -
Hossain Ziarat,
Field Tiffany,
Gonzalez Jeanette,
Malphurs Julie,
Valle Claudia Del,
Pickens Jeffrey
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0355(199424)15:4<348::aid-imhj2280150404>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - psychology , depression (economics) , developmental psychology , economics , macroeconomics
To determine whether infants of “depressed” mothers interact better with their nondepressed fathers, twenty‐six 3‐ to 6‐month‐old infants were videotaped during face‐to‐face interactions with their parents. The “depressed” mother group consisted of twelve 3‐ to 6‐month‐old infants and their “depressed” mothers and nondepressed fathers. The control group was composed of 14 nondepressed mothers and nondepressed fathers and their 3‐ to 6‐month‐old infants. In the “depressed” mother group, the nondepressed fathers received better interaction ratings than the “depressed” mothers. In turn, the infants received better interaction ratings when they interacted with their nondepressed fathers than with their “depressed” mothers. In contrast, nondepressed fathers and mothers and their infants in the control group did not differ on any of their interaction ratings. These findings suggest that infants' difficult interaction behaviors noted during interactions with their “depressed” mothers may not extend to their nondepressed fathers. The data are discussed with respect to the notion that nondepressed fathers may “buffer” the effects of maternal depression on infant interaction behavior.