INTERPRETING THE EFFECTS OF MOTHERS POSTNATAL DEPRESSION ON CHILDRENSINTELLIGENCE - A CRITIQUE AND REANALYSIS

It is possible that reported links between postnatal depression and ch ildren's cognitive deficits can be completely explained by vulnerabili ty factors in the child such as male gender and pre- and perinatal ins ults as well as known risk factors in the social environment. This hyp othesis was evaluated, using prospective longitudinal data that had pr eviously been obtained from a community sample of primiparous North Lo ndon women, followed from early pregnancy until the children were 4 ye ars old. Re-analysis of those data provided support for the original f inding of an association between postnatal depression and impaired cog nitive abilities in the children. There were, however, some important modifications: Low birth-weight infants and the infants of less educat ed mothers were most at risk. Perceptual and performance abilities wer e most affected.