Alessandra Cassar , Patricia H. Schneider , Chukwuemeka Ugwu
{"title":"Maternal depression as catalyst for cooperation: evidence from Uganda","authors":"Alessandra Cassar , Patricia H. Schneider , Chukwuemeka Ugwu","doi":"10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.04.003","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the hypothesis that perinatal depression could function as a catalyst for a mother to elicit cooperation from others in times of need (Hagen, 2002). We analyze data on social support and depression from 292 women in Uganda around the time of giving birth and find that a perceived lack of support, especially from the baby's father, is linked to a higher risk of depression in the mother. Moreover, we employ a quasi-experimental strategy to analyze the lesser-studied direction of the causality and estimate the effect of perinatal depression on different types of support (instrumental, informational, emotional, economic) a mother receives from kin, affines, and unrelated individuals. The results indicate that mothers at the threshold of depression obtain increased help from several individuals, especially the baby's father. Others who show a positive reaction include the woman's mother (maternal grandmother), father (maternal grandfather), and, to a minor extent, father-in-law (paternal grandfather), and cousins. Unrelated but physically close individuals (neighbors and friends) generally provide substantial help but do not react at the depression threshold. Overall, our findings provide some evidence in favor of the bargaining hypothesis for maternal depression.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55159,"journal":{"name":"Evolution and Human Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513824000382/pdfft?md5=0b399cf964028f34f01040e9a6948d3c&pid=1-s2.0-S1090513824000382-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Evolution and Human Behavior","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513824000382","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study investigates the hypothesis that perinatal depression could function as a catalyst for a mother to elicit cooperation from others in times of need (Hagen, 2002). We analyze data on social support and depression from 292 women in Uganda around the time of giving birth and find that a perceived lack of support, especially from the baby's father, is linked to a higher risk of depression in the mother. Moreover, we employ a quasi-experimental strategy to analyze the lesser-studied direction of the causality and estimate the effect of perinatal depression on different types of support (instrumental, informational, emotional, economic) a mother receives from kin, affines, and unrelated individuals. The results indicate that mothers at the threshold of depression obtain increased help from several individuals, especially the baby's father. Others who show a positive reaction include the woman's mother (maternal grandmother), father (maternal grandfather), and, to a minor extent, father-in-law (paternal grandfather), and cousins. Unrelated but physically close individuals (neighbors and friends) generally provide substantial help but do not react at the depression threshold. Overall, our findings provide some evidence in favor of the bargaining hypothesis for maternal depression.
期刊介绍:
Evolution and Human Behavior is an interdisciplinary journal, presenting research reports and theory in which evolutionary perspectives are brought to bear on the study of human behavior. It is primarily a scientific journal, but submissions from scholars in the humanities are also encouraged. Papers reporting on theoretical and empirical work on other species will be welcome if their relevance to the human animal is apparent.