Depression and parenting: the need for improved intervention models

The impact of maternal depression on parenting is well established and there is a clear interaction between maternal depression and parenting that is predictive of child outcomes. The research on paternal depression is more limited but suggests the father's mental health may be an independent risk factor for both parenting and child outcomes. There is insufficient evidence that treatment of depression alone - be it through pharmacological or psychological interventions - is able to substantially reduce the impact of depression on child outcomes. The evidence of interventions aimed at parenting and/or child outcomes in the context of depression is limited and the findings that are available are mixed.