This study investigates the impact of the timing of initial exposure to maternal depression on a comprehensive measure of children's school readiness that incorporates multidimensional developmental domains underlying school adaptation and later success. The Early Development Instrument scores of 59,413 children were linked to their mothers, who were observed from five years before the child's birth to the child's fifth birthday. Exposure to maternal depression was associated with developmental vulnerability in emotional, physical, social, and cognitive domains, and the effects were strongest if the child was first exposed during pregnancy or the preschool period. When controlling for health at birth, health of the child during early childhood, mother's health prior to pregnancy, and the family environment however, the effects of exposure to maternal depression were attenuated. Thus, although maternal depression is a risk factor for children's school readiness, their health and environment compound this effect. A number of different stratifications, variable definitions and robustness checks support the reliability of the findings. The results suggest that mitigating the effects of maternal depression on school readiness is important at any age, and that the programs to address this are likely to lead to improvements far beyond those for maternal depression alone.

本研究调查了母亲首次接触抑郁症的时间对儿童入学准备情况的综合衡量的影响，其中纳入了学校适应和后来成功的多维发展领域。59,413 名儿童的早期发展仪器分数与他们的母亲相关，从孩子出生前五年到孩子五岁生日期间进行观察。母亲抑郁症的暴露与情感、身体、社交和认知领域的发育脆弱性有关，如果孩子在怀孕期间或学龄前时期首次暴露于抑郁症，其影响最为强烈。然而，当控制出生时的健康、儿童早期的健康、怀孕前母亲的健康以及家庭环境时，母亲抑郁症的影响减弱了。因此，尽管母亲抑郁是儿童入学准备的一个危险因素，但他们的健康和环境加剧了这种影响。许多不同的分层、变量定义和稳健性检查都支持研究结果的可靠性。结果表明，减轻母亲抑郁症对入学准备的影响对于任何年龄的人都很重要，解决这一问题的计划可能会带来远远超出仅针对母亲抑郁症的改善。变量定义和稳健性检查支持研究结果的可靠性。结果表明，减轻母亲抑郁症对入学准备的影响对于任何年龄的人都很重要，解决这一问题的计划可能会带来远远超出仅针对母亲抑郁症的改善。变量定义和稳健性检查支持研究结果的可靠性。结果表明，减轻母亲抑郁症对入学准备的影响对于任何年龄的人都很重要，解决这一问题的计划可能会带来远远超出仅针对母亲抑郁症的改善。