Unbound MEDLINE

Maternal Depression and Family Media Use: A Questionnaire and Diary Analysis.

Abstract

We describe the association between postpartum depression and the quantity and content of infant media use. Households with depressed mothers viewed twice as much television as households with non-depressed mothers did, and depressed mothers appeared to derive comparatively greater pleasure from television viewing. Maternal depression was associated with an increased exposure to child-directed content by 6-9-month-old infants, although it was not associated with an increased exposure to adult-directed programming. Depressed mothers also reported being less likely to sit and talk with their children during television use or to consult outside sources of information about media. This increase in television exposure without corresponding parental involvement could negatively affect developmental outcomes.

Links

  • PMC Free PDF
  • PMC Free Full Text
  • Aggregator Full Text

    • Authors

    Bank AM, Barr R, Calvert SL, Parrott WG, McDonough SC, Rosenblum K

    Institution

    Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA.

    Source

    Journal of child and family studies 21:2 2012 Apr 1 pg 208-216

    Pub Type(s)

    JOURNAL ARTICLE

    Language

    ENG

    PubMed ID

    22745524