This study shows mothers in the United Kingdom who reported clinically significant depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood had children who performed worst on measures of inhibition during the elementary school years. Inhibition is a key executive function that supports self-regulation, such as emotion regulation and impulse control.
A research article that reports a longitudinal study that shows that mothers’ parenting stress and social support at age 7 months in infancy predict the postnatal course of their depressive symptoms through infancy and toddlerhood.
Emotional distress experienced by mothers increases young children’s risk of externalizing problems through suboptimal parenting and child self-regulation.
