ABSTRACT

Background: Perinatal illness is alarmingly common and has negative effects on maternal and infant well-being. Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically, are characterised by negative views of the self and others, which may impact a mother’s perceptions of herself and her child.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between depression and PTSD symptoms, maternal perceptions of infant emotions, and parenting behaviours.

Methods: 120 pregnant, mostly low-income women and their infants (after birth) participated in a longitudinal study. Maternal depression and PTSD symptoms were assessed during pregnancy and 1 year postpartum; maternal perceptions of infant emotions and parenting quality were assessed at 1 year.

Results: Correlation analyses revealed significant, negative associations between prenatal (but not postnatal) psychiatric symptoms and positive perceptions of infant emotions, as well as between positive perceptions of infant emotions and negative parenting. Results also revealed significant indirect effects of prenatal depressive and PTSD symptoms on negative parenting via perceptions of infant emotion (95% CIs:.0013 –.0200 and.0008 –.0083, respectively).

Conclusion: Findings highlight that mothers should be routinely screened for psychiatric symptoms during the perinatal period, and perceptions of infant emotions may be an important target for parent-infant mental health interventions.

摘要

背景：围产期疾病非常普遍，对母婴健康有负面影响。具体而言，抑郁症和创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 的特点是对自己和他人的负面看法，这可能会影响母亲对自己和孩子的看法。

目的：本研究探讨了抑郁症与 PTSD 症状、母亲对婴儿情绪的感知以及养育行为之间的关系。

方法：120 名孕妇，主要是低收入妇女及其婴儿（出生后）参与了一项纵向研究。在怀孕期间和产后 1 年评估了母亲的抑郁和 PTSD 症状；在 1 岁时评估母亲对婴儿情绪和养育质量的看法。

结果：相关分析揭示了产前（但不是产后）精神症状与婴儿情绪的积极认知之间，以及婴儿情绪的积极认知与消极养育之间的显着负相关。结果还显示，产前抑郁和 PTSD 症状通过对婴儿情绪的感知对消极养育产生显着的间接影响（95% CI 分别为：.0013 –.0200 和.0008 –.0083）。

结论：研究结果强调，母亲应在围产期定期筛查精神症状，对婴儿情绪的感知可能是亲子心理健康干预的重要目标。