The efficacy of toddler-parent psychotherapy for fostering cognitive development in offspring of depressed mothers

The efficacy of Toddler-Parent Psychotherapy (TPP) as a preventive interven tion for fostering cognitive development in the offspring of depressed moth ers was evaluated. Mothers with major depressive disorder and their toddler s were randomly assigned to TPP (n = 43) or to a nonintervention group (n = 54) and compared to a control group (n = 61) of women with no current or p ast mental disorder. At baseline (age 20 months), the groups did not differ on the Bayley Mental Development Index. At post-intervention follow-up (ag e 3 years), a relative decline in IQ was found in the depressed noninterven tion group, whereas the depressed intervention and the normal control group s continued to be equivalent, with higher WPPSI-R Full Scale and Verbal IQs . The worst outcome was found among nonintervention children whose mothers had subsequent depressive episodes. The results confirm the developmental r isks faced by offspring of depressed mothers and support the efficacy of th e preventive intervention in safeguarding successful cognitive development in at-risk youngsters.