Family dynamics. An exploration of parental sensitivity and depressive symptoms among mothers and fathers of toddlers

Submitted: May 22, 2021
Accepted: September 27, 2021
Published: December 20, 2021
Abstract Views: 2468
PDF: 530
HTML: 39
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

In studies of maternal sensitivity, the influence of mothers’ depressive symptomatology has been consistently highlighted. Additionally, the relevance of both maternal and paternal sensitive responses to children’s development has been recognized. However, literature regarding the dynamics of the mother-father-toddler triad is scarce. This is particularly true when understanding how parental sensitivity may be bidirectionally shaped by both parents’ (i.e., mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptomatology) and children’s characteristics (i.e., age). Hence, the present study aims to describe and analyse the associations between parental depression, paternal sensitivity and children’s socioemotional difficulties and age with mothers’ sensitive responses to highlight the appropriateness of considering fathers’ depressive symptoms and sensitivity to better understand the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology on mothers’ sensitivity. The participants included 80 Chilean mother-father-child triads in which all children were between 1 and 3 years of age and presented some degree of socioemotional difficulty. The results reveal no differences in maternal and paternal sensitivity or higher depressive symptomatology in mothers than in fathers. Additionally, while mothers’ depression was significantly associated with their sensitivity, this was not the case for fathers. Paternal depressive symptomatology was associated with the mother’s depression. Finally, paternal sensitivity emerged as a mediator between maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity. This result calls attention to the use of paternal variables to understand how maternal depression impacts mothers’ sensitivity and to thus develop appropriate interventions that expand the scope of such impacts from the dyad to the triad.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Bell, S. M., & Stayton, D. F. (1974). Infant-mother attachment and social development: Socialization as a product of reciprocal responsiveness to signals. In M. P. M. Richards (Ed.), The integration of a child into a social world (pp. 99-135). New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press.
Allen, M. (2017). Cognitive development beyond infancy. In B. Hopkins, E. Geangu, & S. Linkenauger (Eds.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development (pp. 288-296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Barrows, P. (2004). Fathers and families: locating the ghost in the nursery. Infant Mental Health Journal, 25(5), 408-423.
Beck, A., Ward, C., Mendelson, M., Mock, J. & Erbauch, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4(6), 561-571.
Behrendt, H. F., Scharke, W., Herpertz‐Dahlmann, B., Konrad, K., & Firk, C. (2019). Like mother, like child? Maternal determinants of children’s early social‐emotional development. Infant Mental Health Journal, 40(2), 234-247.
Bernard, K., Nissim, G., Vaccaro, S., Harris, J. L., & Lindhiem, O. (2018). Association between maternal depression and maternal sensitivity from birth to 12 months: a meta-analysis. Attachment & Human Development, 20(6), 578-599.
Binda, V., Figueroa-Leigh, F., & Olhaberry, M. (2019). Antenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms: Association with quality of mother-infant interaction. Infant Behavior and Development, 57, 101386.
Bouvette-Turcot, A.-A., Bernier, A., & Leblanc, É. (2017). Maternal psychosocial maladjustment and child internalizing symptoms: Investigating the modulating role of maternal sensitivity. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45(1), 157-170.
Branger, M. C. E., Emmen, R. A. G., Woudstra, M.-l. J., Alink, L. R. A., & Mesman, J. (2019). Context matters: Maternal and paternal sensitivity to infants in four settings. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(7), 851-856.
Brownell, C. A., & Kopp, C. B. (2007). Transitions in toddler socioemotional development: Behavior, understanding, relationships. In C. A. Brownell & C. B. Kopp (Eds.), Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions and transformations (pp. 1-39). The Guilford Press.
Brummelte, S., & Galea, L. A. (2010). Depression during pregnancy and postpartum: contribution of stress and ovarian hormones. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 34(5), 766-776.
Brummelte, S., & Galea, L. A. (2016). Postpartum depression: Etiology, treatment and consequences for maternal care. Hormones and behavior, 77, 153-166.
Bush K.R., & Peterson G.W. (2014) Parenting and parent-child relationships in Chile. In: Selin H. (Eds.), Parenting across cultures. Science across cultures: the history of non-western science, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht.
Caldera, A. (2014). Policies for making the Chilean labour market more inclusive. OECD Economics Department Working Papers.
Crockenberg, S.C., & Leerkes, E.M. (2004). Infant and maternal behaviors regulate infant reactivity to novelty at 6 months. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1123-1132.
DePasquale, C. E., & Gunnar, M. R. (2020). Parental sensitivity and nurturance. Future of Children, 30(2), 53-70.
Dougherty, L. R., Tolep, M. R., Smith, V. C., & Rose, S. (2013). Early exposure to parental depression and parenting: Associations with young offspring’s stress physiology and oppositional behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(8), 1299-1310.
Eickhorst, A., Schweyer, D., Köhler, H., Jelen-Mauboussin, A., Kunz, E., Sidor, A., & Cierpka, M. (2010). Sensitivity of parents with psychosocial stress. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz, 53(11), 1126-1133.
Encuesta Casen (2017). Observatorio Social. Previsión social: sintesis de resultados. Santiago de Chile: Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia. Available from: http://observatorio.ministeriodesarrollosocial.gob.cl/casen-multidimensional/casen/casen_2017.php
Faulkner, R. A., Davey, M. & Davey, A. (2005). Gender-related predictors of change in marital satisfaction and marital conflict. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 33, 61-83.
Farkas, C., Vallotton, C. D., Strasser, K., Santelices, M. P., & Himmel, E. (2017). Socioemotional skills between 12 and 30 months of age on Chilean children: When do the competences of adults matter?. Infant Behavior and Development, 49, 192-203.
Favez, N., Scaiola, C. L., Tissot, H., Darwiche, J., & Frascarolo, F. (2011). The family alliance assessment scales: steps toward validity and reliability of an observational assessment tool for early family interactions. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20(1), 23-37.
Favez, N., Frascarolo, F., & Tissot, H. (2017). The family alliance model: a way to study and characterize early family interactions. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1441.
Fisher, S. D. (2017). Paternal mental health: why is it relevant? American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 11(3), 200-211.
Field, T. (2010). Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices: a review. Infant Behavior and Development, 33(1), 1-6.
Fosco, G. M., & Grych, J. H. (2013). Capturing the family context of emotion regulation: A family systems model comparison approach. Journal of Family Issues, 34(4), 557-578.
Foster, K., O’Brien, L., & Korhonen, T. (2012). Developing resilient children and families when parents have mental illness: A family‐focused approach. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 21(1), 3-11.
Fox, M. & Borelli, J. (2015). Attachment moderates the association between mother and child depressive symptoms. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 20(1), 29-36.
Fuertes, M., Faria, A., Beeghly, M., & Lopes-dos-Santos, P. (2016). The effects of parental sensitivity and involvement in caregiving on mother-infant and father-infant attachment in a Portuguese sample. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(1), 147-156.
Gabriel, B., Beach, S. R. H. & Bodenmann, G. (2010). Depression, marital satisfaction and communication in couples: Investigating gender differences. Behavior Therapy, 41, 306-316.
Gentile, S., & Fusco, M. L. (2017). Untreated perinatal paternal depression: effects on offspring. Psychiatry Research, 252, 325-332.
Gere, M., Hagen, K., Villabø, M., Arnberg, K., Neumer, S. & Torgensen, S. (2013). Fathers’ mental health as a protective factor in the relationship between maternal and child depressive symptoms. Depression and Anxiety, 30(1), 31-38.
Grace, SL., Evindar, A., & Stewart, D. (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.
Goodman, J. H. (2008). Influences of maternal postpartum depression on fathers and on father–infant interaction. Infant Mental Health Journal: Official Publication of The World Association for Infant Mental Health, 29(6), 624-643.
Hahn-Holbrook, J., Cornwell-Hinrichs, T., & Anaya, I. (2018). Economic and health predictors of national postpartum depression prevalence: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of 291 studies from 56 countries. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8, 248.
Hallers-Haalboom, E. T., Mesman, J., Groeneveld, M. G., Endendijk, J. J., van Berkel, S. R., van der Pol, L. D., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2014). Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters: Parental sensitivity in families with two children. Journal of Family Psychology, 28(2), 138.
Hayes, A. F. (2016). PROCESS macro for SPSS and SAS (Version 2.16) [Computer software].
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408-420.
Henderson, H., Burrows, C., & Usher, L. (2017). Emotional development. In B. Hopkins, E. Geangu, & S. Linkenauger (Eds.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development (pp. 424-430). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hosseini, S. M., Latifi, S., & Kelishadi, R. (2017). Analysis of factors affecting the body mass index in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: bootstrapping regression. Advanced Biomedical Research, 6.
Huston, A. C., & Rosenkrantz Aronson, S. (2005). Mothers’ time with infant and time in employment as predictors of mother-child relationships and children’s early development. Child Development, 76(2), 467-482.
Jadresic, E. (2010). Depresión en el embarazo y el puerperio. Revista Chilena de Neuro-Psiquiatría, 48(4), 269-278.
Johansson, M., Marciszko, C., Brocki, K., & Bohlin, G. (2015). Individual differences in early executive functions: A longitudinal study from 12 to 36 months. Infant and Child Development, 25(6), 533-549.
Kaplan, P., Burgess, A., Sliter, J. & Moreno, A. (2009). Maternal sensitivity and the learning-promoting effects of depressed and non-depressed mothers’ infant-directed speech. Infancy, 14, 143-161.
Kiviruusu, O., Pietikäinen, J. T., Kylliäinen, A., Pölkki, P., Saarenpää-Heikkilä, O., Marttunen, M., ... & Paavonen, E. J. (2020). Trajectories of mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms from pregnancy to 24 months postpartum. Journal of Affective Disorders, 260, 629-637.
Koch, S, De Pascalis, L, Vivian, F, Meurer Renner, A, Murray, L, Arteche, A. (2019) Effects of male postpartum depression on father-infant interaction: the mediating role of face processing. Infant Mental Health Journal, 40, 263-276.
Kwon, K. A., Han, S., Jeon, H. J., & Bingham, G. E. (2013). Mothers’ and fathers’ parenting challenges, strategies, and resources in toddlerhood. Early Child Development and Care, 183(3-4), 415-429.
Lefkovics, E., Rigó Jr, J., Kovács, I., Talabér, J., Szita, B., Kecskeméti, A., ... & Baji, I. (2018). Effect of maternal depression and anxiety on mother’s perception of child and the protective role of social support. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 36(4), 434-448.
Leon, M. J., & Olhaberry, M. (2020). Triadic interactions, parental reflective functioning, and early social‐emotional difficulties. Infant Mental Health Journal, doi:10.1002/imhj.21844.
Manning, L. B. (2019). The relation between changes in maternal sensitivity and attachment from infancy to 3 years. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(6), 1731-1746. doi:10.1177/0265407518771217.
Marchand, A., Bilodeau, J., Demers, A., Beauregard, N., Durand, P., & Haines III, V. Y. (2016). Gendered depression: vulnerability or exposure to work and family stressors?. Social Science & Medicine, 166, 160-168.
Markkula, N., Zitko, P., Peña, S., Margozzini, P., & Retamal, P. (2017). Prevalence, trends, correlates and treatment of depression in Chile in 2003 to 2010. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(4), 399-409.
McAndrew, A. J. (2019). Maternal perinatal depression: Emotional development in offspring from infancy to adolescence. Early Child Development and Care, 189(1), 168-177.
McHale, J.P., Kuersten-Hogan, R., Lauretti, A., & Rasmussen, J.L. (2000). Parental reports of coparenting and observed coparenting behavior during the toddler period. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 220-236.
McMahon, G. E., Spencer-Smith, M. M., Pace, C. C., Spittle, A. J., Stedall, P., Richardson, K., Cheong, J.L.Y., Doyle, L. W., Anderson, P. J., & Treyvaud, K. (2019). Influence of fathers’ early parenting on the development of children born very preterm and full term. The Journal of Pediatrics, 205, 195-201.
Milgrom, J., Gemmill, A., & Bilszt, J. (2008). Antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression: A large prospective study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 108, 147-57.
Moehler, E., Brunner, R., Wiebel, A., Reck, C., & Resch, F. (2006). Maternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period are associated with long-term impairment of mother-child bonding. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 9(5), 273-278.
Muzik, M., Morelen, D., Hruschak, J., Rosenblum, K. L., Bocknek, E., & Beeghly, M. (2016). Psychopathology and parenting: An examination of perceived and observed parenting in mothers with depression and PTSD. Journal of Affective Disorders, 207, 242-250.
Olhaberry, M. & Santelices, M. P. (2013). Presencia del padre y calidad de la interacción madre-hijo: un estudio comparativo en familias chilenas nucleares y monoparentales. Universitas Psychologica, 12(3), 833-843.
O’Neill, M. C., Badovinac, S., Pillai Riddell, R., Bureau, J. F., Rumeo, C., & Costa, S. (2021). The longitudinal and concurrent relationship between caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 16(1), e0245061.
Pawlby, S., Hay, D., Sharp, D., Waters, C., & O’Keane, V. (2009). Antenatal depression predicts depression in adolescent offspring: prospective longitudinal community-based study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 113, 236-243.
Paulson, J., & Bazemore, S. (2010). Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. JAMA, 303(19), 1961-1969.
Parsons, C. E., Young, K. S., Jegindoe Elmholdt, E. M., Stein, A., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2017). Interpreting infant emotional expressions: Parenthood has differential effects on men and women. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(3), 554-564.
Pearson, RM., Melotti, R., Heron, J., Joinson, C., Stein, A., Ramchandani, PG., & Evans, J. (2012) Disruption to the development of maternal responsiveness? The impact of prenatal depression on mother-infant interactions. Infant Behavior and Development, 35, 613-626.
Perez, C. F., & Brahm, M. P. (2017). Paternal postpartum depression: Why is it also important?. Revista Chilena de Pediatria, 88(5), 582-585.
Pérez, F., Catalán, A., Morales, A., Quinlan, A., Riquelme, D., Navarro, J., & Valdés, C. (2018). Assessment of postpartum depression in a group of Chilean parents. Journal of Men’s Health, 14(2), 56-64.
Rahma, Alsarhi, K., Prevoo, M. J., Alink, L. R., & Mesman, J. (2021). Sensitive parenting in urban slums in Makassar, Indonesia: the roles of experienced child maltreatment and sociodemographic risk. Attachment & Human Development, 23(2), 199-211.
Riera, J. (2016). Improving quality of mother-child relationship and their attachment, as a factor of mental health: A systematic review of interventions. Barcelona, España: Universidad de Barcelona.
Rollè, L., Prino, L.E., Sechi, C., Vismara, L., Neri, E., Polizzi, C., Trovato, A., Volpi, B., Molgora, S., Fenaroli, V., Ierardi, E., Ferro, V., Lucarelli, L., Agostini, F., Tambelli, R., Saita, E., Riva Crugnola, C. & Brustia, P. (2017) Parenting stress, mental health, dyadic adjustment: a structural equation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1-10.
Rosenfield S., Mouzon D. (2013) Gender and mental health. In Aneshensel C.S., Phelan J.C., Bierman A. (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Handbooks of sociology and social research. Springer, Dordrecht.
Sameroff, A. (2009). The transactional model. In Sameroff A. (Ed.), The transactional model of development: How children and contexts shape each other (pp. 3-21). American Psychological Association.
Sanson A.V., Letcher P.L.C., Havighurst, S.S. (2018). Child characteristics and their reciprocal effects on parenting. In: Sanders M., Morawska A. (Eds.), Handbook of parenting and child development across the lifespan. Springer, Cham.
Sarkadi, A., Kristiansson, R., Oberklaid, F., & Bremberg, S. (2008). Fathers’ involvement and children’s developmental outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Acta Pediátrica, 97(2), 153-158.
Seath, V., Murray, L., Netsi, E., Psychogiou, L., & Ramchandani, P. (2015). Paternal depression in the postnatal period and early father-infant interactions. Parenting: Science and Practice, 15, 1-8.
Sidor, A., Kunz, E., Schweyer, D., Eickhorst, A., & Cierpka, M. (2011). Links between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms, maternal distress, infant gender and sensitivity in a high-risk population. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 5, 7.
SPSS, I. (2017). IBM SPSS 25.0 for Windows [Computer software]. Chicago, IL: SPSS.
Squires, J., Bricker, D., & Twombly, E. (2002). Ages & stages questionnaires: Social-emotional (ASQ:SE): A parent-completed, child-monitoring system for social-emotional behaviors. Baltimore, MD: Brookes. Available from: http://archive.brookespublishing.com/documents/asq-se-technical-report.pdf
Svetlova, M., & Carpenter, M. (2017). Social development. In B. Hopkins, E. Geangu, & S. Linkenauger (Eds.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development (pp. 415–423). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Teubert, D., & Pinquart, M. (2010). The association between coparenting and child adjustment: A meta-analysis. Parenting: Science and Practice, 10(4), 286-307.
Thiel, F., Pittelkow, M. M., Wittchen, H. U., & Garthus-Niegel, S. (2020). The relationship between paternal and maternal depression during the perinatal period: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.563287.
Tomasello, M., & Carpenter, M. (2007). Shared intentionality. Developmental Science, 10(1), 121-125.
Tronick, E., & Reck, C. (2009). Infants of depressed mothers. A review of longitudinal studies on antenatal and postnatal depression. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 17, 147-56.
Valdés, C., Morales-Reyes, I., Pérez, C., Medellín, A., Rojas, G., & Krause, M. (2017). Propiedades psicométricas del inventario de depresión de Beck IA para la población chilena. Revista Médica de Chile, 145(8), 1005-1012.
Vismara, L., Rollè, L., Agostini, F., Sechi, C., Fenaroli, V., Molgora, S., Neri, E., Prino, L.E., Odorisio, F., Trovato, A., Polizzi, C., Brustia, P., Lucarelli, L., Monti, F., Saita, E. & 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, 1-10.
Woldarsky, V., Urzúa, C., Farkas, C., & Vallotton, C. D. (2019). Differences in chilean and USA mothers’ sensitivity considering child gender and temperament. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(7), 1937-1947.
Wong, O., Nguyen, T., Thomas, N., Thomson‐Salo, F., Handrinos, D., & Judd, F. (2015). Perinatal mental health: fathers-the (mostly) forgotten parent. Asia‐Pacific Psychiatry, 8(4), 247-255.
Yates, T., Ostrosky, M. M., Cheatham, G. A., Fettig, A., Shaffer, L., & Santos, R. M. (2008). Research synthesis on screening and assessing social-emotional competence. The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. Available from: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/documents/rs_ screening_assessment.pdf Accessed: August 22, 2021.

How to Cite

Muzard, A., Olhaberry, M., Immel, N., & Moran-Kneer, J. (2021). Family dynamics. An exploration of parental sensitivity and depressive symptoms among mothers and fathers of toddlers. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 24(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2021.551

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.