Aims. Parental postpartum depressive symptoms have been extensively studied, but the combined longitudinal depression trajectories of parents and their long-term development beyond the postpartum period remain largely underexplored. We identified dyadic longitudinal depressive symptom trajectories in new parents, followed over an 11-year period, and compared parental characteristics, as well as child temperament and mental health factors, across different parental trajectory classes. Methods. A prenatal cohort of 5,518 couples was studied. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at eight time points: in the prenatal stage, in the newborn stage, and at 6 months, 18 months, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years and 11 years after the birth of the child. Results. Dyadic Latent Class Growth Modelling identified five classes of couples: (1) mother has elevated depressive symptoms, father is non-depressed (24%); (2) both mother and father have elevated depressive symptoms (20%); (3) both mother and father are constantly non-depressed (42%); (4) both mother and father are constantly depressed (5%); and (5) mother is constantly depressed, father has elevated depressive symptoms (9%). Relationship maintenance (particularly being married or separated) was the most strongly associated with the classes. Socio-economic resources, emotional well-being, health, obstetric history and parental background also served as meaningful covariates. Child temperament and mental health showed weak correlations with parental trajectory classes. Conclusions. Parents with postpartum depressive symptoms often experience depressive symptoms long-term. Separated parents are particularly vulnerable to adverse depressive trajectories. Our findings underscore the importance of dyadic methods in estimating unique combinations of parental depression trajectories.

Department of Epidemiology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Psychology and Life Sciences Faculty of Humanities Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Abbasi NUH, Bilal A, Muhammad K, Riaz S and Altaf S (2024) Relationship between personality traits and postpartum depression in Pakistani fathers. PLoS ONE 19, e0303474. PubMed PMC

Allen NB and Badcock PBT (2003) The social risk hypothesis of depressed mood: Evolutionary, psychosocial, and neurobiological perspectives. Psychological Bulletin 129, 887–913. PubMed

Amendola S, Hengartner MP, Ajdacic-Gross V, Angst J and Rössler W (2022) Longitudinal reciprocal associations between depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders over three decades of life. Journal of Affective Disorders 302, 315–323. PubMed

American Psychiatric Association (2013) Depressive disorders. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc., 153–188.

Ando H, Shen J, Morishige KI, Suto S, Nakashima T, Furui T, Kawasaki Y, Watanabe H and Saijo T (2021) Association between postpartum depression and social support satisfaction levels at four months after childbirth. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing 35, 341–346. PubMed

Aoyagi SS, Takei N, Nishimura T, Nomura Y and Tsuchiya KJ (2019) Association of late-onset postpartum depression of mothers with expressive language development during infancy and early childhood: The HBC study. PeerJ 7, e6566. PubMed PMC

Aoyagi S and Tsuchiya KJ (2019) Does maternal postpartum depression affect children’s developmental outcomes? Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Research 45, 1809–1820. PubMed

Baron E, Bass J, Murray SM, Schneider M and Lund C (2017) A systematic review of growth curve mixture modelling literature investigating trajectories of perinatal depressive symptoms and associated risk factors. Journal of Affective Disorders 223, 194–208. PubMed PMC

Beach SRH, Katz J, Kim S and Brody GH (2003) Prospective effects of marital satisfaction on depressive symptoms in established marriages: A dyadic model. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 20, 355–371.

Becht MC, Van Erp CF, Teeuwisse TM, Van Heck GL, Van Son MJ and Pop VJ (2001) Measuring depression in women around menopausal age: Towards a validation of the Edinburgh Depression Scale. Journal of Affective Disorders 63, 209–213. PubMed

Bland JM and Altman DG (1997) Statistics notes: Cronbach’s alpha. BMJ (British Medical Journal) 314, 572. PubMed

Bloch M, Tevet M, Onn R, Fried-Zaig I and Aisenberg-Romano G (2024) The long-term course and prognosis of postpartum depression: A retrospective longitudinal cohort study. Archives of Women’s Mental Health 27, 99–107. PubMed

Boardman JD, Finch BK, Ellison CG, Williams DR and Jackson JS (2001) Neighborhood disadvantage, stress, and drug use among adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 42, 151–165. PubMed

Braithwaite S and Holt-Lunstad J (2017) Romantic relationships and mental health. Current Opinion in Psychology 13, 120–125. PubMed

Cermakova P and Csajbók Z (2023) Household crowding in childhood and trajectories of depressive symptoms in mid-life and older age. Journal of Affective Disorders 340, 456–461. PubMed

Chojenta C, Loxton D and Lucke J (2012) How do previous mental health, social support, and stressful life events contribute to postnatal depression in a representative sample of Australian women? Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health 57, 145–150. PubMed

Cluxton-Keller F and Bruce ML (2018) Clinical effectiveness of family therapeutic interventions in the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE 13, e0198730. PubMed PMC

Corrigan CP, Kwasky AN and Groh CJ (2015) Social support, postpartum depression, and professional assistance: A survey of mothers in the Midwestern United States. The Journal of Perinatal Education 24, 48–60. PubMed PMC

Cox JL, Chapman G, Murray D and Jones P (1996) Validation of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) in non-postnatal women. Journal of Affective Disorders 39, 185–189. PubMed

Cox JL, Holden JM and Sagovsky R (1987) Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry 150, 782–786. PubMed

Coyne JC (1976) Depression and the response of others. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 85, 186–193. PubMed

Csajbók Z, Štěrbová Z, Jonason PK, Cermakova P, Dóka Á and Havlíček J (2022) Variation in depressive symptom trajectories in a large sample of couples. Translational Psychiatry 12, 206–211. PubMed PMC

Dadi AF, Miller ER and Mwanri L (2020) Postnatal depression and its association with adverse infant health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 20, 416–430. PubMed PMC

Dennis CL, Brown HK and Brennenstuhl S (2018) Development, Psychometric Assessment, and Predictive Validity of the Postpartum Childcare Stress Checklist. Nursing Research 67, 439–446. PubMed

Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ and Griffin S (1985) The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment 49, 71–75. PubMed

Drozd F, Haga SM, Valla L and Slinning K (2018) Latent trajectory classes of postpartum depressive symptoms: A regional population-based longitudinal study. Journal of Affective Disorders 241, 29–36. PubMed

Escriba-Aguir V and Artazcoz L (2011) Gender differences in postpartum depression: A longitudinal cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 65, 320–326. PubMed PMC

Ettekal I, Eiden RD, Nickerson AB, Molnar DS and Schuetze P (2020) Developmental cascades to children’s conduct problems: The role of prenatal substance use, socioeconomic adversity, maternal depression and sensitivity, and children’s conscience. Development and Psychopathology 32, 85–103. PubMed PMC

Formánek T, Csajbók Z, Wolfová K, Kučera M, Tom S, Aarsland D and Cermakova P (2020) Trajectories of depressive symptoms and associated patterns of cognitive decline. Scientific Reports 10, 20888–20889. PubMed PMC

Gariépy G, Honkaniemi H and Quesnel-Vallée A (2016) Social support and protection from depression: Systematic review of current findings in Western countries. The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science 209, 284–293. PubMed

Genova F, Neri E, Trombini E, Stella M and Agostini F (2022) Severity of preterm birth and perinatal depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers: Trajectories over the first postpartum year. Journal of Affective Disorders 298, 182–189. PubMed

Goodman R (1997) The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38, 581–586. PubMed

Guintivano J, Manuck T and Meltzer-Brody S (2018) Predictors of postpartum depression: A comprehensive review of the last decade of evidence. Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology 61, 591–603. PubMed PMC

Handelzalts JE, Ohayon S, Levy S and Peled Y (2024) Risk psychosocial factors associated with postpartum depression trajectories from birth to six months. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology 59, 1685–1696. PubMed

Hong L, Le T, Lu Y, Shi X, Xiang L, Liu M, Zhang W, Zhou M, Wang J, Xu D, Yu X and Zhao K (2022) Distinct trajectories of perinatal depression in Chinese women: Application of latent growth mixture modelling. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 22, 24–34. PubMed PMC

Kiviruusu O, Pietikäinen JT, Kylliäinen A, Pölkki P, Saarenpää-Heikkilä O, Marttunen M, Paunio T and Paavonen EJ (2020) Trajectories of mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms from pregnancy to 24 months postpartum. Journal of Affective Disorders 260, 629–637. PubMed

Levis B, Negeri Z, Sun Y, Benedetti A and Thombs BD (2020) Accuracy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for screening to detect major depression among pregnant and postpartum women: Systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. BMJ (British Medical Journal) 371, m4022. PubMed PMC

Lim GY, Tam WW, Lu Y, Ho CS, Zhang MW and Ho RC (2018) Prevalence of depression in the community from 30 countries between 1994 and 2014. Scientific Reports 8, 2861–2871. PubMed PMC

Luo S (2017) Assortative mating and couple similarity: Patterns, mechanisms, and consequences. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 11, e12337.

Matthey S, Barnett B, Kavanagh DJ and Howie P (2001) Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for men, and comparison of item endorsement with their partners. Journal of Affective Disorders 64, 175–184. PubMed

McCall-Hosenfeld JS, Phiri K, Schaefer E, Zhu J and Kjerulff K (2016) Trajectories of depressive symptoms throughout the peri- and postpartum period: Results from the first baby study. Journal of Women’s Health 25, 1112–1121. PubMed PMC

Molgora S, Fenaroli V, Malgaroli M and Saita E (2017) Trajectories of postpartum depression in Italian first-time fathers. American Journal of Men’s Health 11, 880–887. PubMed PMC

Nieh HP, Chang CJ and Chou LT (2022) Differential trajectories of fathers’ postpartum depressed mood: A latent class growth analysis approach. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 19, 1891–1901. PubMed PMC

Nordsletten AE, Larsson H, Crowley JJ, Almqvist C, Lichtenstein P and Mataix-Cols D (2016) Patterns of nonrandom mating within and across 11 major psychiatric disorders. JAMA Psychiatry 73, 354–361. PubMed PMC

Parker G, Tupling H and Brown LB (1979) A Parental Bonding Instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology 52, 1–10.

Pietikäinen JT, Kiviruusu O, Kylliäinen A, Pölkki P, Saarenpää‐Heikkilä O, Paunio T and Paavonen EJ (2020) Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and children’s emotional problems at the age of 2 and 5 years: a longitudinal study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 61, 195–204. PubMed

Piler P, Kandrnal V, Kukla L, Andrýsková L, Švancara J, Jarkovský J, Dušek L, Pikhart H, Bobák M and Klánová J (2016) Cohort profile: The European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC) in the Czech Republic. International Journal of Epidemiology 46, 1379–1379f. PubMed PMC

Rao WW, Zhu XM, Zong QQ, Zhang Q, Hall BJ, Ungvari GS and Xiang YT (2020) Prevalence of prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers: A comprehensive meta-analysis of observational surveys. Journal of Affective Disorders 263, 491–499. PubMed

Serhan N, Ege E, Ayrancı U and Kosgeroglu N (2013) Prevalence of postpartum depression in mothers and fathers and its correlates. Journal of Clinical Nursing 22, 279–284. PubMed

Shorey S, Chee CYI, Ng ED, Chan YH, Tam WWS and Chong YS (2018) Prevalence and incidence of postpartum depression among healthy mothers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research 104, 235–248. PubMed

Tebeka S, Strat YL and Dubertret C (2016) Developmental trajectories of pregnant and postpartum depression in an epidemiologic survey. Journal of Affective Disorders 203, 62–68. PubMed

Trivers R (1972) Parental investment and sexual selection. In Campbell B edited by, Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man, 1871–1971. Chicago, IL: Aldine de Gruyter, 136–179.

Volling BL, Yu T, Gonzalez R, Tengelitsch E and Stevenson MM (2019) Maternal and paternal trajectories of depressive symptoms predict family risk and children’s emotional and behavioral problems after the birth of a sibling. Development and Psychopathology 31, 1307–1324. PubMed PMC

Wang D, Li YL, Qiu D and Xiao SY (2021) Factors influencing paternal postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders 293, 51–63. PubMed

Whisman MA (2007) Marital distress and DSM-IV psychiatric disorders in a population-based national survey. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 116, 638–643. PubMed

Whisman MA and Bruce ML (1999) Marital dissatisfaction and incidence of major depressive episode in a community sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 108, 674–678. PubMed

Yang K, Wu J and Chen X (2022) Risk factors of perinatal depression in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry 22, 63–74. PubMed PMC