ABSTRACT This study examined depression trajectories of rural, low-income mothers over 3 years in the co-occurring family health context. Specifically, within a Family Systems Theory framework, we compared 11 mothers who showed ongoing signs of major depression (“constantly depressed”) with 12 mothers who exhibited signs of major depression at baseline but whose condition improved over time (“continuously improved”). The constantly depressed mothers experienced more physical health problems, distrust toward health-care professionals, and a more negative outlook on their lives. While both groups of mothers reported similar struggles of dealing with children’s health, struggle to deal with children’s emotional and behavioral issues tended to be more profound issues among the constantly depressed mothers. These issues were accompanied by a set of challenges in the mothers’ lives, including limited childcare options, loss of employment, day-to-day behavioral management, and concerns for delinquent behaviors. The findings highlight the importance of family context in understanding maternal depression, particularly, among vulnerable rural populations.

中文翻译：

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孕产妇抑郁与家庭健康状况：追踪农村低收入母亲的抑郁轨迹

摘要这项研究在家庭健康同时发生的情况下研究了农村低收入母亲三年多的抑郁轨迹。具体而言，在家庭系统理论框架内，我们比较了11名表现出持续性严重抑郁症迹象（“持续抑郁”）的母亲和12名表现出在基线时表现出严重抑郁症但症状随时间改善（“持续改善”）的母亲。不断抑郁的母亲经历了更多的身体健康问题，对医疗保健专业人员的不信任以及对生活的负面看法。尽管两组母亲在处理儿童健康方面都进行了类似的斗争，但在不断抑郁的母亲中，应对儿童的情感和行为问题的努力往往是更为深刻的问题。这些问题伴随着母亲生活中的一系列挑战，包括有限的育儿选择，失业，日常行为管理以及对不良行为的担忧。研究结果突出了家庭背景对于理解孕产妇抑郁的重要性，特别是在脆弱的农村人口中。