The proposed study focuses on a topic about which there is little information: depression in mothers of young children. It is thought that approximately 12% of women who are mothers of young children are clinically depressed, whereas 52% are thought to have subclinical levels of depressive symptomatology. Earlier work by Hock and DeMeis focused on the importance of employment in understanding women who are most vulnerable to depression. These investigators found that women who stay at home with their babies, but who prefer to be employed, are most likely to experience symptoms of depression and stress. The study's major objectives are as follows: The first objective is to predict the occurrence and level of depressive symptomatology in mothers of firstborn infants as a function of psychological and contextual variables occurring during the first two years of their infants' lives. The second objective is to develop and test a causal model of the way in which maternal work status, as mediated by selected mother and father attributes, affects maternal mental health. The third objective is to develop and refine assessment strategies for the purpose of better understanding the nature and etiology of depression in mothers. Finally, the fourth objective is to describe the character of depression in mothers of infants including a clarification of their level of functioning, and their awareness of the presence and effect of depressive symptomatology in their lives. In order to accomplish these objectives, a longitudinal study of 120, primiparous mothers will be conducted, extending from the seventh month of pregnancy until the child is 22 months of age. The CES-D will be utilized to assess depression, along with two newly-developed instruments, a clinical interview and a questionnaire. This multimethod approach will permit a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each measure. Other psychological attributes such as maternal separation anxiety, career salience, job satisfaction, and maternal role investment of the mother; as well as sex-role attitudes and marital satisfaction of both the mother; as well as sex-role attitudes and marital satisfaction of both the mother and her husband will also be assessed. Data analysis will include path analyses for clarification of causal relations, regression analyses to identify the relative importance of predictor variables, and the compilation of descriptive data.
