Parental Depression Scholarly Peer-review Journal
Parental depression shapes not only a parent’s
perception of the world, but also a child’s experience of the world internally and externally, Smith says. Depressed parents have been found to interact with their children differently, in ways that affect child development. For example, Smith says, “Depressed mothers have been found in some studies to use less emotion and expressivity in their language with their babies. And they make less eye contact.”
Parental depression can impact many activities of parenting. Even a simple activity such as reading a storybook to a child may be affected. A depressed parent may not be as lively or as expressive, she says. He or she won’t change voices for different characters or make sound effects, for example. Of particular concern, Smith says, is isolation that may occur for parent and child, which she calls one of the “largest impacts, limiting the social networks of both the adults and the child.”
Studies link parental depression (including prenatal depression) with a wide range of difficulties, some lifelong. Depression not only interferes with
parental bonding and nurturing, it also means parents may not be as likely to do the things that are necessary to keep their children safe and healthy (such as using a car seat or getting immunizations). School-age children with depressed parents may not perform as well academically, have been found in some studies to be more likely to have behaviour problems, and have poorer overall health.
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