The post partum depressive symptoms and their influence on the quality of couple adjustment and early triadic interactions in the first year of child life

Introduction Postpartum maternal depressive symptoms, even when they are not related to a clinical diagnosis of depression, are the most studied issue as potential risk factor for child development and for the construction of early adult-child interactions and couple adjustment. Method Following a longitudinal research design, this study aims at investigating the development of mother-father-child interactions in families with mothers with and without post-partum depressive symptoms and the association between maternal symptoms and couple adjustment. N = 61 non-referred primiparous families was split in two groups: Families with mothers with depressive symptoms (N = 13) and a control group (N = 48). Data were collected with: Lausanne Trilogue Play (Fivaz-Depeursinge & Corboz-Warnery, 1999), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (Cox, et al., 1987), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1986) at 7th month of pregnancy and at 1th, 4th and 9th month of child’s life. Results The data show no statistical differences between the two sample with respect to the quality of triadic interactions. The quality of family interactions improves in each observational phase, from pregnancy to parenthood, both in families with and without mothers with post-partum depressive symptoms. With respect to the couple relationship, the mothers with depressive symptoms show a lower level of marital satisfaction than the control group, at each time point. Results also show a linear decrease of the level of couple adjustment from pregnancy to 9th month of child’s life. Conclusions The post partum depressive symptoms seem to have no influence on the quality of early family interactions in the first child’s year. The presence of the father in the triadic interactions could be a protective factor and a source of support for the mother in their parental role.