Forty infants (mean age 5 months) of depressed mothers and non-depressed mothers were seated in an infant seat and were exposed to four different degrees of animation, including a still-face Raggedy Ann doll (about two-feet tall suspended in front of the infant), the same doll in an animated state talking and head-nodding, an imitative mother and…

This essay reviews research on mother-infant roles during early interactions and how these serve to foster the development of infant emotion regulation. It provides illustrations of the ways in which physical unavailability (resulting from hospitalization or other separation) and emotional unavailability (resulting from mental illnesses such as…

Presents studies on primates and human infants suggesting that maternal depression may predispose the infant to chronic depression. Findings also suggest that the effect of early separations from the mother may provide a model for reactive depression in the infant. (Author/BB)

The present study investigated whether infants of mothers who were depressed postpartum would behave like infants of non-depressed mothers who simulated depression. A total of 24 mothers and their 3-month-old infants were videotaped during face-to-face interactions. All mothers were given the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait…