What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore how maternal and paternal postpartum depression differentially affects child mental health through family processes.

February 20, 2026

Associations of parental postpartum depression with child mental health: A mediation analysis.

Key Points

This research aims to explore how maternal and paternal postpartum depression differentially affects child mental health through family processes.
Analyzed data from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development with 1,694 participants.
Used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for parental depression assessment.
Reported child/adolescent symptoms using the Social Behavior Questionnaire and Mental Health Assessment for Adolescents.
Investigated parenting practices, family functioning, and marital satisfaction as mediators with structural equation modeling.
Maternal depression related to higher internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children through increased coercive parenting and reduced family functioning.
Paternal depression showed a similar link but with its own distinct mediators, including marital satisfaction and parenting practices.
Most significant pathways included family functioning and parenting styles, highlighting the value of targeting these areas in interventions.

Abstract

Maternal and paternal postpartum depression are important indicators of children's mental health. However, few studies have tested the putatively distinct mechanisms via which they are associated with child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We sought to differentiate the mediating role of maternal versus paternal family processes in these associations. We analyzed data (n = 1,694) from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a representative 1997-1998 birth cohort. Mothers and fathers self-reported their depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms were reported by parents, teachers, and children using the Social Behavior Questionnaire (ages 3.5-13 years) and self-reported by adolescents using the Mental Health and Social Inadaptation Assessment for Adolescents (ages 15-17 years). Parent-reported parenting practices and family functioning at 1.5 and 2.5 years and marital satisfaction at 2.5 years were tested as mediators. Using structural equation modeling, we found that postpartum depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers were differentially associated with child/adolescent mental health. Maternal symptoms were associated with increased child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms via increased maternal coercive parenting practices (21.7%), lower paternal marital satisfaction (4.1%), and reduced family functioning (21.2%). Paternal symptoms were associated with increased child/adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms via increased paternal coercive parenting practices (8.4%), decreased paternal marital satisfaction (23.4%), and reduced family functioning (54.2%). The distinct maternal and paternal mechanisms illustrate how parental depression is differentially associated with child mental health and highlight a need to understand their relative significance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

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