title: Correlation Between Mothers' Depression and Developmental Delay in Infants Aged 6-18 Months.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Regarding the importance of children's developmental status and various factors that delay their development, this study was conducted to examine the correlation between mothers' depression levels and the developmental delay in infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive study was performed on 1053 mothers and their infants' age 6 to18 month-old in medical centers affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2014-2015. The participants were selected through multi-stage random sampling. The following instruments were used in this study: A demographic and obstetric specification questionnaire, infant specification questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire to determine the status of the children's development. The data were analyzed using SPSS19 software, Mann-Whitney; independent T-test and logistic-Regression tests were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that 491 mothers (46.7%) suffered mild to extremely severe depression. The delay in infant development was 11.8%. The Mann-Whitney test showed a correlation between mothers' depression levels and developmental delay in infants (P=0.001). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between mothers' depression and developmental delays in gross-motor and problem-solving skills (P<0/05). In logistic model age of infants showed significant correlation with developmental delay (P=0.004 OR=1.07), but unwanted pregnancy, gender of infants, type of delivery and socioeconomic status had no correlation with developmental delay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given the correlation between mothers' depression and infant development, it is recommended to screen mothers for depression in order to perform early interventions in developmental delay.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. Tehran, Iran.r_vameghi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Roshanak
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vameghi
authors.forename: Sedigheh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amir Ali Akbari
authors.forename: Homeira
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sajjadi
authors.forename: Firoozeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sajedi
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alavimajd
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009048:Motor Skills; D011340:Problem Solving; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors