The Patterning of Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of First-Time Mothers

Abstract

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies - D Scale (CES-D) was administered to a sample of 200 women participating in the Dublin Child Development Study in the third trimester of their first pregnancies, at 3 weeks postpartum and when their infants were 18 months old (118 of the women provided data in all 3 phases of the study). The highest mean score for the group was obtained in pregnancy rather than at 3 weeks postpartum as a ‘postnatal depression’ hypothesis would predict, and levels of depression at 18 months were as high as those found at 3 weeks. On breaking down the sample by marital status it was found that high scores in pregnancy were associated with single marital status. However, single women scored at the same level as married women at 3 weeks and at 18 months postpartum. Analysis of the overall pattern of scoring and CES-D item scores suggests that the depressive symptoms of the single mothers in pregnancy were a response to their current aversive life situation.