Maternal Depression and Its Relation to Mental Health Problems in children

Abstract

This work aimed at determining the relation between maternal depression and emotional & behavioral problems in children aged 1 ½ to 5 y in the Egyptian pediatric population. This exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted at the pediatric outpatient clinic, at Beni- Suef University Hospital, over a period twenty months from September 2016 to May 2018. The total number of participants who were at the first visit was 164 participants, they completed all the questionnaires, but 20 participants didn’t attend the next visit after two weeks from the first visit, so the total number that participated in the two visits was 143 participants .The current study reported that self-report screening for maternal depression is feasible in primary care settings. In our study the results showed that a large numbers of mothers have depression about 87.8 % of the participant mothers have depression in the first and the second interview. In conclusion, the current study revealed that maternal depression was significantly related to higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, and general psychopathology.

Keywords

• maternal depression
• emotional and behavioral problems in children