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Philip N. Cohen, University of Maryland; 2015-014

Maternal postpartum depression has been shown to be one of the main predictors of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in toddlers and adolescents. Research suggests that presence of such behaviors can be observed as early as infancy. The current study uses longitudinal data from 247 mothers to examine the relationship between postpartum depressive symptoms at 8 weeks and the infant's externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 12 months. In unadjusted linear regression models, there were associations between postpartum depressive symptoms and infant externalizing behaviors (β=0.082, SE=0.032, p=0.012) and internalizing behaviors (β=0.111, SE=0.037, p=0.003). After controlling for potential confounding factors, including maternal age, race, education, home ownership, smoking status in the postpartum period, marital status, parenting stress, and happiness from becoming a parent, the associations between postpartum depressive symptoms and infant externalizing (β=0.051, SE=0.034, p=0.138) and internalizing behaviors (β=0.077, SE=0.040, p=0.057) were reduced and became non-significant. Furthermore, in these models the total amount of variance explained was 17.2% (p<0.0001) for externalizing behaviors and 10.5% (p<0.01) for internalizing behaviors; the only significant predictor of externalizing behaviors was maternal age (β=-0.074, SE=0.030, p=0.014), and of internalizing behaviors was white non-Hispanic ethnicity (β=-1.33, SE=0.378, p=0.0005). A combined effect of the confounding factors seems to explain the finding of no significant independent association between postpartum depressive symptoms and infant externalizing and internalizing behaviors.

Sangeetha Madhavan investigates the effects of social and economic change on children's lives in Nairobi

This paper examines whether Medicaid adult vision coverage affects labor market activity using state-by-year changes to these benefits.We find that vision benefits increase hours worked and occupational skill requirements, but no consistent evidence of changes on the extensive employment margin. Intensive margin effects could be facilitated by decreased barriers to transportation - when a state covers vision services, beneficiaries are more likely to commute to work by car or motorcycle rather than other modes. Our study suggests that, conditional on eligibility, Medicaid can have a positive effect on labor market activity by expanding access to services that enable work. JEL codes:I13, I18, J22, H75. Link to online-before-print version

Faculty Associate Julia Steinberg and colleaguse set out to test risks associated with having a medication or procedural abortion prior to 13 weeks of pregnancy

Informed Choices: Gender Gaps in Career Advice

Family planning in an era of psychological and economic strife

Book and opinion piece in the New York Times lay out "elephant in the room" issues of family structure

EconoFact Chats podcast episode explores slowing U.S. population growth during the COVID period and well before

Social context partially determines the family formation response to a positive income or earnings shock