Maternal Depressive Symptoms in the First Year after Childbirth Predict Long-Term Developmental Risks in Sons and Daughters

Under-diagnosed and thus under-treated, maternal depression remains the most common complication of childbearing. Varying symptoms suggest persistence up to more than a decade following childbirth. This implies distinct vulnerabilities for the physical and emotional care of children. Using a prospective-longitudinal sex-stratified birth cohort of 2120 infants, we examined the relationship between early maternal depression symptoms and subsequent child psycho-social and relational characteristics. Mothers self-reported the severity and frequency of depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth. Parents, teachers, and target participants reported on child mental health and relationships with adults, from kindergarten to tenth grade. A series of least-squares regressions were estimated, while controlling for pre-existing/concurrent child and family confounds. Both sons and daughters of mothers with more depressive symptoms were at risk of experiencing greater psycho-social impairment, classroom rule defiance, difficult relationships with teachers, less enjoyable mealtimes (age 6 years) and sleep, and coercive or inconsistent parenting practices in childhood and adolescence. For boys, these prospective associations were mostly consistent through ages 12 and 15 years. Girls also experienced more problematic interactions through to age 15 years. This study provides observations of distinct long-term vulnerabilities for sons and daughters in association with early maternal distress at important transitional periods of development in early, middle, and later childhood.


Introduction
Care of mothers begets care of children.Due to a confluence of biological and contextual factors, mental disorders remain the most common persistent complication of childbearing [1].Affecting one in five women, maternal depression is both under-diagnosed and thus under-treated, especially in low-and middle-income countries [2].The functional impairment associated with symptoms generates enduring social-economic costs to individuals, families, and communities [3,4].
The World Health Organization has underscored an urgent millennial goal for communitybased knowledge in early identification and management of maternal mental health disorders and now offer clear care-giver guidelines [5,6].A suggested worldwide healthcare standard is to regularly ask mothers about their experiences of coping with negative emotions (sadness, irritability, and anxiety) at each postnatal contact.They should be asked about daily tasks, social support, and remarkable family life events [7].Family members should also be included by healthcare providers to assess any mental health changes that are considered atypical [1].
Screening begins with an assessment of the range of typical experiences with depressive symptoms during the first year after birth [8].Depressed mood and loss of interest/motivation must be accompanied by several other symptoms over a two-week period, such as disturbances in sleep and/or appetite; feelings of worthlessness and/or guilt; diminished concentration; irritability; anxiety; and/or thoughts of suicide [5].Functional impairment varies with symptomatology and phenotypically differs across women [9,10].For some, even a narrow range of symptoms can handicap social and occupational functioning [5].This is important for several reasons.First, there is reasonable concern for morbidity and mortality, especially when symptoms are endured past the first 5 months.Significant symptoms' intensity should be prioritized for treatment because of the associated risks related to caregiving [11,12].Second, varying levels of key depressive symptoms are likely to persist up to more than a decade after childbirth [13][14][15][16].
Indeed, signs of emotional distress in mothers forecast child outcomes [8].Depressive symptoms generate disadvantage in neurodevelopmental milestones in the preschool years [17].In a systematic review of 122 studies (out of 3712 candidate studies from 2005 to 2016), Slomian and her colleagues [18] synthetized bio-psycho-social development risks for child well-being from birth to age 3 years.Two other reviews of 29 studies documented similar negative associations with mother-child attachment and child cognitive and behavioral functioning [12,19].A population-based Canadian birth cohort study of children born between 2005 and 2016 found that children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms in the first year of life had increased risk for difficulties in social competence, physical health and well-being, and emotional maturity by age 5 years [20].Early childhood vulnerability potentially snowballs into adult risks [13].
There is a theoretical explanation to this nexus.Maternal depressive symptoms after birth have been viewed as the result of the activation of inflammatory pathways associated with perinatal demands [21].This may impact child vulnerability to stress and subsequent risk of child psychopathology via hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning [22,23].Classic reactivity models of "allostatic load" characterize less than optimal infant caregiving through the unbalanced interplay between maternal depressive symptoms, maternal cortisol secretion and child reactivity, and unmet emotional and physical needs [24].Prolonged exposure to negative life experiences in infancy predicts less optimal glucocorticoid signaling and cortisol responses to daily stressors by adolescence [25].Maternal and child reactivity are thus linked with negative reciprocal interactions, which involve bonding, breast-feeding, and warmly engaged and responsive care [18].
Studies vary in the techniques that measure symptoms versus a clinical diagnosis, as shown in the most stringent of literature reviews [12,18,19].Compared to discrete diagnostic measurement, screening instruments offer more person-centered and continuous approaches [13,17].Sensitivity by symptom intensity might better detect degrees of functional impairment in caregiving and parenting [1,22].Varying the confound control across studies also reduces confidence in interpretations.Thus, pre-existing and concurrent factors control in a longitudinal design could maximize internal and external validity [26].Finally, the majority of studies has relegated child sex as a nuisance variable that requires confound control.This disregards the influences of gender-based vulnerabilities due to biological and contextual influences in parent-child interactions [27,28].Real life is not a gender-neutral experience.First, mothers of male infants have greater odds of postpartum depression likely attributable to inflammatory pathways during sex-specific gestation [21].Second, sons of mothers experiencing distress during infancy and early childhood have been found to be particularly vulnerable, showing both long-term internalizing and externalizing behavior in childhood, when compared with daughters [28].Because boys and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we argue that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requiring that we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressive symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social development from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth cohort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its recurrent associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason; Int.J. Environ.Res.Public Health 2024, 21, x 3 of and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we arg that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requiring th we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressi symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social developme from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth c hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months af childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 yea in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its current associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infa relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring ch risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet phy ical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceiv stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negati interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmenta appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by t Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 28 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected throu the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 wee or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited fro each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions duri the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 1 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refus to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the p ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regar ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.T 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) we retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which o curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselv (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping m mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I f hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have f scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughte [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (som or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal d pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social a justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionna and girls have different biological and contextual influences and that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experie we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association betw symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psy from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal po hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive sy childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behavior in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of current associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in t relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms wil risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive sym ical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negativ stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problem interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to pa appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLS Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort s newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were ran the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote a the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of pa each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were de were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unre to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent wa ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, school-age years.Data from participants was collected through ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environm 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive sympto retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data coll curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Month
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reli the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reporte (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was res felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that peop scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these sympto Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (l or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate am and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate m pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Y
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire [32]: physical aggression (10 items: child got into fights; encouraged other children to pick on a particular child; reacted in an aggressive manner when teased; tried to dominate other children; reacted in an aggressive manner when contradicted; scared other children to get what she/he wanted; when someone accidentally bumped him/her, he/she started a fight; he/she reacted with anger and fighting; physically attacked people, hit, bit, or kicked other children; reacted in an aggressive way when something was taken away from he/her; curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 6years = 0.92, curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 12years = 0.90), oppositional behavior (4 items: was defiant or refused to comply with adult's requests or rules; did not seem to feel guilty after misbehaving; punishment did not change his/her behavior; had temper tantrums or hot temper; ental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The h-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were d (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which ocat ages 6, 12, and 15 years.ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 12years = 0.83), and victimization (3 items: was made fun of by other children; was hit or pushed by other children; was called names by other children; school-age years.Data from participants was collected through ho ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmen 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptom retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collec curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliab the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I h mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restle felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptom Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (les or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amo and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate mo pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Yea
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers re justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social B 6years = 0.74, ter which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regardental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The h-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were d (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which ocat ages 6, 12, and 15 years.or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 15years = 0.82).Items were rated as 1 (never), 2 (rarely (once or twice)), 3 (often (about once a week on average)), and 4 (very often (more than once a week on average)) on a Likert scale.Parents and children reported on emotional distress at ages 6 and 12 years respectively (7 items: cried a lot; had trouble enjoying him/herself; was worried; was nervous, high-strung or tense; was too fearful or anxious; was not as happy as other children; seemed to be unhappy or sad; The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordina Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consist newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selecte the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born befor or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recr each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regi the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligib were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 4 to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained fro ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home intervie ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characte 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers t (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble k mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an e hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was hap felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time ( and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe m pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Que 12years = 0.79).Response options for all items included 1 (never or not true), 2 (sometimes or somewhat true), and 3 (often or very true) on a Likert scale.Higher values indicate a higher intensity of emotional distress.With the exception of the emotional distress scale, all psychological adjustment scales were transformed on a scale from 0 to 10 using the mean score, where a higher score indicates a more problematic behavior.
Sleep length.The mother reported the amount of sleep (hours and minutes) the child has on an average night at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its recurrent associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 6years = 0.82, hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its recurrent associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 12years = 0.93).Responses to these items varied on a Likert scale of 1 (never), 2 (rarely), 3 (sometimes), 4 (often), and 5 (always).For each scale, the mean was calculated and converted to a scale ranging from 0 to 10.
Student-teacher relationships.At age 6 years, conflictual relationship with the child comprised 6 items (raised my voice, scold or yell at him/her; how often I have to discipline him/her repeatedly for the same thing; child tends to have more emotional and behavioral problems than other boys or girls his/her age; this child and I always seem to be struggling with each other; dealing with this child drains my energy; when this child is in a bad mood, I know we're in for a long and difficult day; and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we argue that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requiring that we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressive symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social development from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth cohort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its recurrent associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 6years = 0.85) [33].At age 12 years, sixth-grade teachers reported their relationship with the child (4 items: this child and I always seem to be struggling with each other; this child easily becomes angry with me; dealing with this child drains my energy; when this child is in a bad mood, I know we're in for a long and difficult day; and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we argue that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requiring that we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressive symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social development from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth cohort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its recurrent associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 12years = 0.87) [34].At age 15 years, youths self-reported on relationships with teachers (4 items: I get easily angry at teachers; it takes a lot of energy for a teacher to deal with me; I find it difficult to get along with teachers; I don't feel respected by teachers; 3 of 16 ls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we argue aternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requiring that t the two sexes as separate populations [29].e purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressive ms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social development indergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth cosign, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after rth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years cally developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its ret associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant ship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child hat is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physemotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived n the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative tions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally riate activities.ycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adnt in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 15years = 0.79) [34].Items were rated on a Likert scale including 1 (not at all or does not apply), 2 (not really), 3 (neutral/not sure), 4 (applies somewhat), and 5 (a lot or definitely applies).The mean of the item scores was calculated and restructured on a scale from 0 to 10. Higher values indicate a more conflictual relationship.
Parental practices.(A) Consequential interactions with the child.At ages 6, 12, and 15 years, parents reported on how consistently the child is given consequences in the past 12 months (7 items: when you ask the child to do something, what portion of time do you check for compliance; if told child they would get punished if they did not stop doing something, and kept doing it, how often did you punish the child; how often did the child get away with things that you felt should have been punished; how often was the child able to get out of a punishment when you really had set his/her mind to it; when you had disciplined the child, how often did he/she ignore the punishment?; when child broke the rules or did things that they weren't supposed to, how often did you ignore it; when child broke the rules or did things that they weren't supposed to, how often did you take away privileges or sent them in their room; school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 6years = 0.67, school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 12years = 0.58, school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interv ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental charac 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection wave curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridge the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mother (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was h felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked m scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 fo [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the la Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 d or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported ch justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Q 15years = 0.60) [35].The Likert response range was 1 (never), 2 (rarely or less than half the time), 3 (sometimes or about half the time), 4 (often or more than half the time), and 5 (always or all the time).For all items, the Likert scale is inverted for a higher score to indicate a greater tendency to apply the same discipline rules for behaviors each time.(B) Coercive interactions with the child.At ages 6, 12, and 15 years, the parent reported on their negative interactions with the child in the past 12 months (7 items: you grab firmly or shake the child when they were being difficult; get angry with the child for saying or doing something they were not supposed to; hit the child when they were being difficult; get angry when you were punishing the child; have to discipline the child repeatedly for the same thing; raise your voice, scold or yell at the child when they broke the rules; use physical punishment toward the child when they broke the rules; The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 6years = 0.74, The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire 12years = 0.68, The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coo Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample co newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly s the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administr the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed in were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtaine ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home int ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental cha 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection w curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abri the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mot (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trou mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did wa hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I wa felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people dislike scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of t and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more seve pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavio 15years = 0.59).The Likert scales response options were as follows: 1 (never), 2 (about once a month or less), 3 (about once per 2 weeks), 4 (about once a week), 5 (a few times a week), 6 (one or two times a day), and 7 (many times each day).
Family meal environment quality.Parent-reported family meal environment quality scale used by Pagani et al. [36] measured mealtime enjoyment and communication at age 6 years.Bedroom screen.The child reported at age 12 years if there was the presence of a television in the bedroom.Response options were 0 (no) or 1 (yes).

Confound Control Variables (Ages 5 Months to 15 Years)
To rule out pre-existing confounding variables between maternal depressive symptoms and later psycho-social outcomes, child-specific and family characteristics were identified based on previous literature and statistical analyses.From the National Institute of Mental Health-Diagnostic Interview Schedule [37], we obtained parent-reported mother antisocial antecedents (9 items: 0 = below the median, 1 = above the median; from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptom childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from a in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic current associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadi relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms r ical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactiv stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic beh interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in d appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), co Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample co newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly s the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administ the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participant each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed in were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtain ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home int ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental cha 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection w curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abr the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mot (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trou mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did wa hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I w felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people dislike scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.7 [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in th Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more seve pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavio = 0.51) and father antisocial antecedents at 5 months (8 items: 0 = below the median, 1 = above the median; e purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressive ms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social development indergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth cosign, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after rth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years cally developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its ret associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant ship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child hat is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physemotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived n the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative tions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally riate activities.ycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adnt in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire = 0.62); family configuration at 5 months (0 = intact, 1 = non-intact); family income at 5 months (0 = sufficient income, 1 = insufficient income); maternal education at 5 months (0 = finished high school, 1 = did not finish high school); paternal education at 5 months (0 = finished high school, 1 = did not finish high school); gestational smoking or substance use at 5 months (0 = no substance use, 1 = any substance use); neurocognitive skills assessed through the "1, 2, 3 Hands Game", an adapted version of the Imitation Sorting Task, administered by research assistants at 5 months [38]; and child temperament problems using the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) at age 1.5 years as reported by the father (10 items: 0 = below the median, 1 = above the median; Int.J. Environ.Res.Public Health 2024, 21, x and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requirin we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal dep symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social develo from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based bi hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 month childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 1 in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and current associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict endurin risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unme ical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to per stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, n interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developm appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected th the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative reg the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruite each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible a were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 r to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from t ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teac school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews r ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristi 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120 retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, wh curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged ver the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers them (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keep mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effor hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I h scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for dau [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last wee Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe mater pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child soc justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questio = 0.76) [39].Parent-reported child screen time (0 = below 2 h/day, 1 = above 2 h/day) and family dysfunction were measured using items from the McMaster Family Assessment Device [40]  and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we argue that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requiring that we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal depressive symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social development from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based birth cohort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 15 years in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and its recurrent associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother-infant relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict enduring child risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unmet physical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to perceived stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, negative interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developmentally appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regarding parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which occurred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 (some or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)), and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe maternal depression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child social adjustment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questionnaire and girls have different biological and contextual influences and expectations, we that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experience, thus requirin we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between maternal dep symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psycho-social develo from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal population-based bi hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms 5 month childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors from ages 6 to 1 in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allostatic load and current associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the dyadic mother relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will predict endurin risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive symptoms risk unme ical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative reactivity to per stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problematic behaviors, ne interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to partake in developm appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected th the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative reg the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruite each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible a were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 r to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from t ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teac school-age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews r ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristi 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120 retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, wh curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged ver the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers them (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keep mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effor hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I ha scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for dau [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last wee Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)), 2 or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate more severe mater pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years)
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers reported child soc justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Behavior Questio and girls have different biological and contextual influences and e that maternal depressive symptoms represent a distinct experienc we treat the two sexes as separate populations [29].
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association betwee symptoms in the first year after childbirth and subsequent psych from kindergarten entry to high school.Using a longitudinal popu hort design, we aim to examine whether maternal depressive sym childbirth predict risks for key psychological and social behaviors f in typically developing boys and girls.Based on the concept of allo current associated chances of disorganized mutual reactivity in the relationship, we expect that maternal depressive symptoms will p risks.That is, we expect that more severe maternal depressive sympt ical and emotional infant needs, which generate enduring negative r stress in the growing child and thus predict long-term problemat interactions with peers and adults, and fewer opportunities to parta appropriate activities.

Participants
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD Institut de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sam newborns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were rando the Quebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote adm the health ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or or after 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of partic each sampling unit was determined by the number of births in the sa the previous year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deem were untraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreac to participate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was o ents, after which informed consent was obtained from parents, chi school-age years.Data from participants was collected through hom ing parental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmen 5-month-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms retained (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collect curred at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.

Predictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months)
Depressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliab the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported b (13 items: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I ha mind on what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I d hopeful about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restles felt lonely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people d scared or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  [30,31].Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms Likert scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less or a little of the time (1-2 days)), 3 (occasionally or a moderate amou and 4 (most or all the time (5-7 days)).Higher values indicate mor pression symptoms.

Outcome Variables: Psychological Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Year
Psycho-social adjustment.At ages 6 and 12 years, teachers rep justment in the past 6 months using three factors from the Social Be 15years = 0.83), and both were controlled for, concurrently, at ages 6, 12, and 15 years.
Our analyses employed a sex-stratified approach, thus treating boys and girls as separate populations as they experience risk and protective factors differently due to distinct biological and contextual influences [42].We first estimated a series of leastsquares regressions in which maternal depressive symptoms at age 5 months were linearly regressed on substantively or theoretically related child and family characteristics from ages 5 months to 15 years.We then estimated a series of least-squares regressions in which several indicators of psycho-social well-being at ages 6, 12, and 15 years were predicted by maternal depressive symptoms at age 5 months (SPSS v.26, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).To best ensure an unbiased estimation of these presumed associations, we adjusted for pre-existing and concurrent child and family characteristics.That is, for each outcome, the predictor and confound controls were entered simultaneously for a fully controlled model, where DR iages6-15years represents child well-being risks; MDS iage5months represents exposure to maternal depressive symptoms at age 5 months; and FAM i and CHILD i represent, respectively, the family and child control variables that are pre-existing to the MDS predictor variable or concurrent with the DR outcome variable for each individual child i .Finally, a 1 and e i represent the constant and the stochastic error terms, respectively.DR iages6-15years = a1 + ß1 MDS iage5months + γ1 CHILD i + γ2 FAM i + e i

Results
Table 1 provides descriptive statistics stratified by sex for the predictor, outcome, and control variables.At age 5 months, mothers of sons had a mean score of 1.42 (on 10) on the depressive symptoms scale.As for daughters, mothers had a mean score of 1.36 on the depressive symptoms scale.Notes. 1 Teacher-reported. 2 Parent-reported. 3Child self-reported. 4 Trained examiner.M = mean; SD = standard deviation; TV = television.Analyses corrected for attrition bias.Data were compiled from the final master file of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (1998-2013), © Gouvernement du Québec, Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Discussion
As the twig is bent, the tree shall grow.Past research suggests that maternal psychopathology influences the quality of mother-child and caregiving interactions, and, in turn, forecasts child vulnerability [1,2,7].Our findings provide observations of distinct vulnerabilities for sons and daughters at important transitional periods of development at kindergarten, middle school, and mid-point of high school.
Kindergarten represents the beginning of formal schooling [43].Both cognitive and non-cognitive school readiness skills ultimately influence long-term achievement, lifestyle, and ultimately human capital [44].According to teachers, children of mothers reporting sadness, irritability, and lack of interest, pleasure, and energy 5 months after childbirth experienced more subsequent vulnerability at kindergarten, compared to their same-sex counterparts.More specifically, they had a greater risk of experiencing fear, sadness, and being physically aggressive and oppositional in the kindergarten setting.Such children were less likely to consider and respect others and their property, according to kindergarten teachers.Teachers also noted greater chances of being harassed, excluded, or insulted by classmates.It is not surprising that maternal depressive symptoms forecasted a conflictual relationship with kindergarten teachers.Teachers also reported greater risks of scolding, disciplining, or yelling at children of such mothers for repetitive problematic behaviors.The mothers themselves reported less optimal social interactions with their sons and daughters.For example, they were less likely to enjoy family meals as a time to communicate positively and were more likely to engage in coercive and negative interactions with their children.
Mothers who reported depressive symptoms at 5 months were more likely to use consequential parenting with girls at age 6 years.As such, they used more compliance monitoring, discipline, and contingent punishment with daughters.Taken together, this parenting approach by age 12 years may have offset some long-term problem behavior risks.Maternal depressive symptoms predicted having a child bedroom screen as well, which allows for private internet access and unregulated use and content.Bedroom screens at this age enhance temptation to spend more isolated discretionary time on entertainment rather than schoolwork [45].Children with bedroom screens also sleep less.By age 15 years, daughters were more likely to report compromised sleep length and conflictual studentteacher relationships.Mothers continued to report consequential discipline and compliance checks with daughters in comparison to their same-sex counterparts with no history of maternal depressive symptoms.
For boys, the associations between maternal depressive symptoms and physical aggression, oppositional behavior, victimization by classmates, and emotional distress risks endured to the end of sixth grade, according to teachers.In this context, associations between maternal depressive symptoms and lack of respect for the rules and conflictual teacher-student relationships persisted as well.Sixth-grade teachers were more likely to report negative interactions with boys for their chronic problematic behaviors.It is not surprising that parents of such boys expressed having a harder time.Indeed, although they reported compliance checks and discipline contingencies, maternal depressive symptoms predicted more negative, harsh interactions with sons.By the mid-point of high school, sons of mothers with more depressed symptoms self-reported sleeping less and an increased risk of being victimized by schoolmates.This corroborates previous victimization reports by kindergarten and sixth-grade teachers and is not surprising, given their developmental risk trajectories of turbulent behavior since kindergarten.Although they reported increases in consequential discipline, parents were more likely to resort to more authoritarian and harsh interactions with adolescent sons by age 15 years.This study is not without limitations.First, although correlation does not imply causation, maternal depressive symptoms might have predicted habitual negative interactions that influence a family climate of chronic adversity that further reinforce negative dyadic relations.Second, although the findings are above and beyond the influence of nuisance variables and omitted variable bias, we only tested the predictive value of depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth.This study highlights the chronic power of early maternal symptoms.It has several strengths, especially the large sample, the abundant confound control variables, and the focus on critical developmental periods for outcomes of sons and daughters.

Conclusions
Maternal depression remains under-diagnosed and under-treated and is often persistent, thus requiring active clinical assessment and intervention to diminish populational risk [10,22].It is more common in contexts where physical and emotional support for mothers is limited [5,6].This likely affects cross-cultural and situational generalizability.Our findings, generated based on maternal states at one key point in early infancy, clearly speak to the extant literature.Moreover, they add a tale of developmental continuity using exhaustive control of confounds and competing pre-existing and concurrent explanations.Affecting stress and immune biomarkers, depressive symptoms in infancy create a unique environment that is not conducive to optimal development of both mothers and children [7,15].The associated general irritable mood in such mothers likely generates a needs mismatch between parent and offspring, which, in turn, fosters habitual emotional dysregulation and chronic perceived stress response routines in the dyad from early childhood onward.Once coercive and counter-coercive transactions become habitual between parent and child, there are increased chances of diffusion effects of family adversity to other contexts, such as the classroom and school environment.Functional impairment in children is often expressed with negative behavior, such as irritability and underachievement [7].The treatment of psycho-social difficulties in childhood and adolescence must consider parental mental health history and its long-term influence on the parent and child.Indeed, considering a life history approach to relationships may impact the potential effectiveness of potential interventions implemented during childhood and adolescence [27].

2. 4 .
Outcome Variables: Social Outcomes (Ages 6, 12, and 15 Years) Respect of rules.Teachers reported on the child's respect of rules based on items from the Early Development Instrument33 at ages 6 and 12 years (8 items: follows rules; follows instructions; has respect for the property of others; has self-control; has respect for other adults; has respect for other youth; accepts responsibility for own actions; takes care of material; (7 to 9 items: 0 = below the median, 1 = above the median; Int.J. Environ.Res.Public Health 2024, 21, x 3 of 16 6years = 0.82, Int.J. Environ.Res.Public Health 2024, 21, x 12years = 0.85, Int.J. Environ.Res.Public Health 2024, 21, x dictor Variable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months) epressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of ter for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves s: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my n what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), coordinated by the de la Statistique du Québec, is made up of a birth cohort sample consisting of 2837 rns born between 1997 and 1998.The participants were randomly selected through ebec Master Birth registry from remote and non-remote administrative regions of lth ministry.Participants residing in aboriginal territories or born before 24 weeks 42 weeks of gestation were excluded.The number of participants recruited from mpling unit was determined by the number of births in the sampled regions during vious year.From the original sample, 93 infants were deemed ineligible and 172 ntraceable.Of the 2572 eligible participants, 14 were unreachable and 438 refused icipate.In the early childhood phase, informed consent was obtained from the parter which informed consent was obtained from parents, children, and teachers in age years.Data from participants was collected through home interviews regard- ods ticipants e ental (maternal and paternal), family, child, and environmental characteristics.The h-old infants with complete maternal depressive symptoms data (n = 2120) were d (50.7% boys).Outcomes were selected from data collection waves, which ocat ages 6, 12, and 15 years.dictorVariable: Maternal Depressive Symptoms (Age 5 Months) epressive symptoms were measured with a valid and reliable abridged version of ter for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as reported by mothers themselves s: my appetite was poor; I could not shake off the blues; I had trouble keeping my n what I was doing; I felt depressed; I felt that everything I did was an effort; I felt l about the future (reverse-coded (RC)); my sleep was restless; I was happy (RC); I ely; I enjoyed life (RC); I had crying spells; I felt that people disliked me; I have felt or panicky for no very good reason;  = 0.81 for sons and  = 0.78 for daughters) .Mothers reported the frequency of each of these symptoms in the last week on a scale with response options including 1 (rarely or never (less than 1 day)),

Table 1 .
Descriptive statistics for study variables.

Table 2 .
Unstandardized regression coefficients (standard error) reflecting the adjusted relationship between baseline and concurrent child and family characteristics between ages 5 months and 15 years and maternal depressive symptoms at age 5 months.