Researchers show a strong association between postpartum depression, early to child’s mother and behavioral development of children.
Postpartum maternal mental health and mother to child’s link are well established as critical factors in the psychosocial development of a child. However, few studies have explored the combined impact of postpartum maternal depression and early union experiences in emotional and behavioral difficulties during middle childhood. A new study reveals significant associations between postpartum depression, mother to children’s linking and children’s difficulties. In particular, it was found that the Safe Safe Union partially cushioned the long -term effects of postpartum depression on children’s results.
The development and well -being of a child are formed by several factors, among which maternal mental health and mother’s link to which they are an important role in social and emotional development. Mothers babies with postpartum depression often exhibit erratic temperaments and delayed cognitive development. In addition, maternal depression can hinder the union process, increasing the risk of insecure attachment and subsequent development challenges. Although the short -term effects of postpartum depression on the early development and union of children are well documented, less about how maternal depression and union difficulties are jointly influenced on behavioral and psychosocial results in middle childhood.
To address this gap, a research team led by the Associate Professor Daimei Sasayama of the Department of Psychiatry in collaboration with Professor Hideo Honda of the Department of Psychiatry of Child and Adolescent Development, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Shinshu, Japan, investigated the relationship between postpartum maternal depression and the linkage of the mother and its combined impact of children in the behavior and difficulties of six. The study raised the hypothesis that the child’s union can mediate the long -term impacts of maternal depression on the results of child mental health. His findings were published online in the magazine Mental Health Archives of Women on April 15, 2025.
The study included 245 mother-son couples of Okaya, Japan, with children born between April 2, 2009 and April 1, 2012. The team used the Postnatal Depression Scale (EPD) of Edimburg (EPD) and the Japan version of the Mother A Child Union Scale (MIBS-J) to evaluate the depressive symptoms of the maternal and union, respectively. In addition, they measured children’s difficulties using the Japanese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). EPDS and MIBS-J data were collected from mothers of approximately 2 weeks to 1 month after childbirth during postnatal health checks. While the SDQ data qualified by themselves and the parents were collected from their children of sixth grade and their caregivers. Among the caregivers who completed the SDQ with parents qualification, 92.2% were mothers, 7.3% were parents and a person was another caregiver.
According to the data collected, 17.1% of mothers exhibited postpartum depressive symptoms, which were aligned with national prevalence rates in Japan. These symptoms showed direct and indirect associations with the union of mother to children and the difficulties of children. “Interestingly, it was discovered that the union from mother to child measured 34.6% of the effects of postpartum maternal depression on children’s difficulties, which confirmed the study hypothesis,” explains Dr. Sasayama. “In addition to these factors, the child’s sex was a significant predictor of psychosocial difficulties, with boys who show higher total difficulty scores than girls, particularly in behavior and hyperactivity or lack of attention.” However, both sources of qualification indicated greater difficulties among children whose mothers had postpartum depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the lasting impact of early union experiences between mother and child and the future psychosocial growth of their children. This even more emphasizes the need for early interventions aimed at union in the context of maternal postpartum depression to promote the healthy results of children. “Our findings help to deepen our understanding of how early attachment experiences mediate the long -term impact of maternal mental health on children’s emotional and behavior results. Future research should prioritize development interventions that improve mother’s link to postpartum recruitment as an approach to mitigate long -term psychosocial difficulties in children,” adds Dr. Sasayama.
Future studies should also explore which specific depressive symptoms affect more union in populations of larger samples and should include genetic data, socio -economic factors and other underlying mechanisms in the configuration of these associations to design specific interventions to support the mothers already affected their families.