Poster #16 - Maternal and paternal evaluations of depressive symptoms and the coparenting relationship at six months postpartum

• In Event: Poster Session 19

Abstract

A considerable percentage of mothers go through a depressive episode subsequently to giving birth (17%; Shorey et al., 2018). Depressive episodes can also occur in fathers, with a recent meta-analysis identifying prior history of mental illness and maternal postpartum depression as important risk factors for fathers to develop depressive symptoms within 12 months following a child’s birth (Ansari et al., 2021). Postpartum depressive symptoms have important implications on parents’ interactions with their infants and may compromise the development of a secure relationship (Murray et al., 2018; Paulson et al., 2006). Additionally, researchers have examined ways in which parents relate to one another regarding their children’s education. The concept of coparenting explores the family system according to the exchanges and cooperation between parents concerning their role in regard of their child’s education (Feinberg, 2003). Research has demonstrated that a poorer coparenting relationship was associated with higher DS in both parents at 13 months postpartum (Solmeyer & Feinberg, 2011). Moreover, a study investigating the association between DS and coparenting found that DS of both parents were correlated with the coparenting relationship at different moments during the postpartum period and that maternal DS were more prone to be correlated to the coparenting relationship than paternal DS (Tissot et al., 2017). While fathers have been increasingly included in the parenting literature given their expanding involvement in their children’s education, much remains unknown about how parents interact with each other and how it relates to their mental health during challenging periods. The present study aims to assess the association between depressive symptoms of both parents with the individual appreciation of their coparenting relationship six months postpartum. The sample comprises 66 parental dyads living in Montréal, Québec who completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scales (CES-D scale; Radloff, 1977) and the Family Experience Questionnaire (FEQ; Frank et al., 1988) six months postpartum. Results indicate that a higher intensity of maternal depressive symptoms is associated with a more negative evaluation of their relationship with their partner concerning their child’s education (r = .66, p < .001). This association was not found in fathers (r = .03, p = .86). Fathers’ DS were not correlated to mothers’ DS (r = .07, p = .61) but their satisfaction concerning the coparenting relationship was (r = .41, p = .01). These results suggest that the presence of depressive symptoms in mothers and the relationship they have with their partner are closely related. Thus, developing interventions that target these variables might be effective to improve their well-being during this period. Otherwise, it seems that fathers’ mood and their perception of the coparenting exchanges might be less likely to be associated.

Authors

• Raphaëlle Lafond-De Courval, Université de Montréal (UdeM)
  Presenting Author

• Marie-Julie Béliveau, Université de Montréal (UdeM)

• Karine Dubois-Comtois, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)

• Christopher Kalogeropoulos

• Marjolaine Chicoine

• Marie-Hélène Pennestri