Research Question

1
The Relationship Between Infant Negativity,
Parental Self-Efficacy, and Postpartum Depression
in First-Time Mothers and Fathers.
Kathy Chan, Phillip R. Sevigny, and Lynn
Loutzenhiser
Methods
Introduction
Results
? Approximately 13 of mothers and fathers in the
community develop clinical levels of depressive
symptoms after the birth of a child, referred to
as postpartum depression (PPD). ? PPD is
associated with a number of negative consequences
for the entire family, (e.g., increased risk for
later parental depression and suicide, accidents
with the infant, infanticide, and problematic
parent-child, marital, and family
relationships. ? PPD has been examined primarily
amongst mothers. ? Parental self-efficacy (PSE),
the expectations that parents hold about their
ability to parent successfully, has been found to
predictor of postpartum depressive symptoms
(PPDS) amongst mothers (Cutrona Troutman, 1986
Gross et al., 1994 Olioff Aboud, 1991). With
the dearth of knowledge about PSE and PPD amongst
fathers, more research in this area is needed. ?
Cutrona Troutman (1986) found PSE to mediate
the relationship between infant negativity and
maternal PPDS, such that greater infant
difficulty was related to lower PSE, which was
related to increased maternal PPDS. ? This study
assesses whether the findings of Cutrona and
Troutman (1986) can be replicated amongst
first-time mothers and extended to first-time
fathers.
Participant Demographics Participant Demographics Participant Demographics Participant Demographics Participant Demographics Participant Demographics Participant Demographics
Mothers (n 72) Mothers (n 72) Mothers (n 72) Fathers (n 72) Fathers (n 72) Fathers (n 72)
Non-clinical community sample Non-clinical community sample Non-clinical community sample Non-clinical community sample Non-clinical community sample Non-clinical community sample
Age (years) M 28.7 SD 5.4 Range 18-40 M 30.8 SD 6.3 Range 19-57
Infant Age 3 months of age 3 months of age 3 months of age 3 months of age 3 months of age 3 months of age
Education 77 reported post-secondary education 77 reported post-secondary education 77 reported post-secondary education 75.7 reported post-secondary education 75.7 reported post-secondary education 75.7 reported post-secondary education
Total Family Income 69.3 reported an annual income of greater than 60,000 69.3 reported an annual income of greater than 60,000 69.3 reported an annual income of greater than 60,000 69.3 reported an annual income of greater than 60,000 69.3 reported an annual income of greater than 60,000 69.3 reported an annual income of greater than 60,000
Amongst mothers, infant negativity was a
significant predictor of PPDS (B 0.24, p lt
.05). However, when PSE was tested as a mediator,
the relationship ceased to be significant (Sobel
test z 2.47, p .01). Specifically,
mothers who reported more infant negativity also
reported less PSE and more postpartum depressive
symptoms. While infant negativity was a
significant negative predictor of paternal PSE ,
neither were predictive of PPDS.
Thus, while PSE plays a partial mediating role
in the relationship between infant negativity and
PPDS amongst mothers, it does not amongst fathers.
Measures Measures Measures
Variable Questionnaire Chronbachs Alpha (a)
Infant Negativity Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, Fussy Difficult Temperament subscale (Bates, Freeland, Lounsbury, 1979) Mothers .83 Fathers .81
Parental Self-Efficacy (PSE) Self-efficacy in the nurturing role scale (Porter Hsu, 2003) Mothers .78 Fathers .83
Postpartum Depressive Symptoms (PPDS) Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, Brown, 1996) Mothers .84 Fathers .81
Discussion
? As expected, this study found that PSE mediated
the relationship between infant negativity and
PPDS amongst mothers, replicating the findings of
Cutrona and Troutman (1986). This pattern of
relationships was not found amongst fathers,
suggesting predictors of PPDS may differ for men
and women. ? In this sample of Canadian women on
maternity leave, it may be that the mothers were
more focused on their success at parenting than
the fathers who were also employed outside the
home, and thus PSE was more directly tied to PPDS
for these mothers. ? As this study focused on
postpartum depressive symptomatology but not
clinical postpartum depression, efforts should be
made to explore PSE in a clinical sample. ? Since
much of the PPDS literature focuses on mothers,
while largely ignoring fathers, it is clear that
more research is needed to facilitate our
understanding of paternal PPDS. ? Future research
should examine how differential parental
experiences of postpartum depression may relate
to other aspects of child-, parent-, and family
functioning.
Analyses
Multiple hierarchical regressions were conducted separately for mothers and fathers to assess the mediating role of PSE in the relationship between infant negativity and PPDS.
Research Question
Does PSE mediate the relationship between infant
negativity and PPDS amongst first-time mothers
and fathers?
e-mail kathy.kat.chan_at_gmail.com