Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42084757›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2026

Longitudinal maternal depression and child mental health from pregnancy to child age 7: a study of three life course frameworks.

Allison Frost, Kaitlin Shartle, Michelle Escobar Carias, Sarah C Haight, John A Gallis, Aparna G Kachoria, Amina Bibi, Sugandh Gupta, Ashley Hagaman, Sonia Bhalotra and 6 more

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Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Allison FrostCarolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. allisonfrost@unc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4636-7687
Kaitlin ShartleSanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, USA.
Michelle Escobar CariasDepartment of Economics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Sarah C HaightDepartment of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
John A GallisDuke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA.
Aparna G KachoriaDepartment of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
Amina BibiHuman Development Research Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Sugandh GuptaDepartment of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
Ashley HagamanDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, USA.
Sonia BhalotraDepartment of Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry, USA.
Victoria BaranovDepartment of Economics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Elizabeth L TurnerDuke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA.
Nasim ChaudhryPakistan Institute of Living and Learning, Karachi, Pakistan.
Atif RahmanDepartment of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Siham SikanderPakistan Institute of Living and Learning, Karachi, Pakistan.
Joanna MaselkoCarolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.

Funding

Impact of Perinatal Depression treatment on child developmental outcomesR01HD075875 · NICHD · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI MASELKO, JOANNA · 2014 to 2024
$5.2M
Risk and resilience: Evaluating the multigenerational effect of a psychosocial maternal depression intervention against COVID-19-related stressorsRF1MH132367 · NIMH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BARANOV, VICTORIA, MASELKO, JOANNA · 2022 to 2022
$2.1M
AHRQ HHS T32-HS000032Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R01HD075875NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD075875NIMH NIH HHS RF1MH132367NIMH NIH HHS U19MH95687
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMaternal depression is associated with mental health difficulties in children, but it is unclear how the timing or duration of depressive symptoms impact child outcomes. This study tested three life course frameworks in the longitudinal association between maternal depression and child mental health: sensitive periods, accumulation, and chain of risk.

methods841 mother-child dyads in Pakistan were followed from pregnancy through child age 7. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy, infancy (3 and 6 months postpartum), early childhood (child age 2 and 3), and middle childhood (child age 4 and 6). Child mental health difficulties were measured at age 7. Path modeling was used to test each life course hypothesis.

resultsMaternal depressive symptoms during early childhood and middle childhood, but not pregnancy or infancy, were associated with increased mental health difficulties at child age 7. Results supported the accumulation model, meaning there was a dose-response relationship between the number of periods of maternal depression and child mental health difficulties. Results also supported a chain of risk model, suggesting that early maternal depression can trigger a cascade of intervening maternal depressive episodes, the most recent of which are associated with child mental health.

conclusionResults show that early exposure to maternal depression impacts children's later mental health through subsequent exposure to maternal depression. In addition, recent exposure to maternal depression is particularly impactful for child mental health. This suggests that interventions for maternal depression may benefit children at multiple points in the life course.

Indexed as

Child mental healthLife courseMaternal depressionSouth Asia

Identifiers

PMID42084757

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