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Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Field, T; Healy, B; Goldstein, S; Perry, S; Bendell, D; Schanberg, S; Zimmerman, EA; Kuhn, C
Published in: Child Dev
December 1988

To determine whether the "depressed" behavior (e.g., less positive affect and lower activity level) of infants noted during interactions with their "depressed" mothers generalizes to their interactions with nondepressed adults, 74 3-6-month-old infants of "depressed" and nondepressed mothers were videotaped in face-to-face interactions with their mothers and with nondepressed female strangers. "Depressed" mothers and their infants received lower ratings on all behaviors than nondepressed mothers and infants. Although the infants of "depressed" versus nondepressed mothers also received lower ratings with the stranger adult, very few differences were noted between those infants' ratings when interacting with their mother versus the stranger, suggesting that their "depressed" style of interacting is not specific to their interactions with depressed mothers but generalizes to their interactions with nondepressed adults as early as 3 months of age.

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Published In

Child Dev

DOI

ISSN

0009-3920

Publication Date

December 1988

Volume

59

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1569 / 1579

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Environment
  • Mother-Child Relations
  • Middle Aged
  • Maternal Behavior
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
 

Citation

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Field, T., Healy, B., Goldstein, S., Perry, S., Bendell, D., Schanberg, S., … Kuhn, C. (1988). Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults. Child Dev, 59(6), 1569–1579. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1988.tb03684.x
Field, T., B. Healy, S. Goldstein, S. Perry, D. Bendell, S. Schanberg, E. A. Zimmerman, and C. Kuhn. “Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults.Child Dev 59, no. 6 (December 1988): 1569–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1988.tb03684.x.
Field T, Healy B, Goldstein S, Perry S, Bendell D, Schanberg S, et al. Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults. Child Dev. 1988 Dec;59(6):1569–79.
Field, T., et al. “Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults.Child Dev, vol. 59, no. 6, Dec. 1988, pp. 1569–79. Pubmed, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1988.tb03684.x.
Field T, Healy B, Goldstein S, Perry S, Bendell D, Schanberg S, Zimmerman EA, Kuhn C. Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults. Child Dev. 1988 Dec;59(6):1569–1579.
Journal cover image

Published In

Child Dev

DOI

ISSN

0009-3920

Publication Date

December 1988

Volume

59

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1569 / 1579

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Environment
  • Mother-Child Relations
  • Middle Aged
  • Maternal Behavior
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Developmental & Child Psychology