Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 325, 15 March 2023, Pages 459-469
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research paper
Parents' history of childhood interpersonal trauma and postpartum depressive symptoms: The moderating role of mindfulness

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.007Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Childhood interpersonal trauma is linked with more postpartum depression in parents.

  • Mindfulness decreases the impact of childhood trauma on postpartum depression.

  • Childhood experiences of one parent is related to postpartum heath of the other parent.

  • Dispositional mindfulness fosters lower postpartum depression in parents.

Abstract

Postpartum depression is the most commonly reported mental health issue among parents welcoming a new child, with long-term impacts on the well-being of their family. Survivors of childhood interpersonal trauma (CIT) appear to be more vulnerable with higher rates of postpartum depressive symptoms. Yet, studies are needed on protective mechanism that can buffer the link between CIT and postpartum depressive symptoms, to identify factors that can promote resilience in CIT survivors as they navigate this demanding period. Studies also need to include both parents to adopt a comprehensive dyadic perspective. This study examined the moderating role of mindfulness, a protective mechanism documented as key for both postpartum mental health and trauma processing, in the association between CIT and postpartum depressive symptoms in parental couples. A randomly selected sample of 843 couples who recently welcomed a new child completed self-reported measures of CIT, dispositional mindfulness and postpartum depression. Path analyses showed that more experience of CIT was associated with higher levels of postpartum depression, but this association was weaker in parents with higher dispositional mindfulness. Exploration of mindfulness facets yielded that higher disposition to act with awareness and observation acted as specific buffers, for fathers and mothers respectively. In addition, more CIT reported by one parent was linked with their partner's higher depressive symptoms. These findings shed light on the protective role of mindfulness during the postpartum period to protect against postpartum depression in parents who are CIT survivors and their partners.

Keywords

Childhood interpersonal trauma
Child maltreatment
Postpartum depression
Mindfulness
Parent
Actor-partner interdependence model

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