Interventions for Depressed Low Income Mothers and Their Infants

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will compare three interventions for depressed, low income mothers and determine which is most effective in treating maternal depression and in fostering development in infants.

Detailed Description
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Poorly educated, low income mothers are at high risk for becoming depressed. The effects of living in poverty and being reared by a depressed parent can be detrimental to an infant's development. Effective interventions to reduce maternal depression and strengthen the mother-infant relationships are needed. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group 1 mothers will receive 16 weekly sessions of interpersonal psychotherapy (IP) designed to directly treat maternal depression. Group 1 participants will have monthly follow-up visits for 1 year. Participants in Group 2 will receive 16 weekly sessions of IP followed by 1 year of in-home, infant-parent psychotherapy, an intervention addressing relationship difficulties between depressed mothers and their infants. Group 3 mothers will be invited to attend informational meetings as well as be referred to local services available to people with depression. All mother-child pairs will be evaluated when the child is 12, 16, 24, and 36 months of age. Evaluations will involve questionnaires, diagnostic interviews, developmental assessments, and video- and audio-taped measures.

Official Title
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Prevention for Infants of Low-Income Depressed Mothers

Conditions
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Depression

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Maternal interpersonal psychotherapy (IP)
* Behavioral: Infant-parent psychotherapy
* Behavioral: Informational meetings plus treatment as usual


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria for Mothers: Current diagnosis of depression Mother of an infant 9 to 11 months of age Low income, defined as less than $25,000 for a family of two or less than $31,400 for a family of three (add approximately $7,960 for each additional family member) Exclusion Criteria for Mothers: Current substance abuse Severe mental or physical limitations that would interfere with the study

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 44 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Interpersonal Psychotherapy<br>Participants will receive interpersonal psychotherapy for depression. | Behavioral: Maternal interpersonal psychotherapy (IP)<br>* Participants will receive 16 weekly sessions of maternal IP designed to directly treat maternal depression.<br>|
| Experimental: Interpersonal psychotherapy/child-parent psychotherapy<br>Participants will receive interpersonal psychotherapy for depression plus 1 year of in-home, child-parent psychotherapy. | Behavioral: Maternal interpersonal psychotherapy (IP)<br>* Participants will receive 16 weekly sessions of maternal IP designed to directly treat maternal depression.<br>Behavioral: Infant-parent psychotherapy<br>* Participants will receive 1 year of in-home, infant-parent psychotherapy, an intervention addressing relationship difficulties between depressed mothers and their infants.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Enhanced community standard<br>Participants will be invited to attend informational meetings as well as be referred to local services available to people with depression. | Behavioral: Informational meetings plus treatment as usual<br>* Participants will be invited to attend informational meetings as well as be referred to local services available to people with depression.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maternal depression |  | Measured when the child is 12, 16, 24, 36, and 48 months of age | 
| Child development |  | Measured when the child is 12, 16, 24, 36, and 48 months of age | 
| Infant-parent attachment |  | Measured when the child is 12, 16, 24, 36, and 48 months of age | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Mother-Child Relations, Infant, Child Development, Poverty