Dépressivité maternelle au post-partum et symptomatologie du bébé à trois mois : l’effet modérateur de l’alliance familiale et de la satisfaction conjugale

Mood disturbances are frequent in the perinatal period. Mothers may present a “subthreshold” depression or even a diagnosed postpartum depression. This “depressiveness” is related to parenting behavior disruptions, to mother–child relationship disturbances and as a consequence they hamper the behavioral, cognitive and affective development of the child. However, several factors may buffer the negative effect of maternal depressiveness. The study presented in this paper assesses to what extent family alliance and marital satisfaction moderate the link between maternal depressiveness and child development. Fifty-seven families took part to the study with a 3-month-old infant. Depressiveness in mothers was assessed through self-reported questionnaire and diagnosis interview. Family alliance was assessed in the Lausanne Trilogue Play. Marital satisfaction and child symptoms were assessed by mothers through questionnaires. Results show that (i) the level of depressiveness in our sample is consistent with the prevalence in the general population, (ii) there is a link between maternal depressiveness and child symptoms, (iii) these links are indeed moderated by marital satisfaction, as a buffering factor, and by family alliance, as an aggravating factor. These results show the necessity to take into account the relational context of the mother in order to understand to what condition maternal mood disturbances may affect the development of the child.