Abstract
BackgroundFamily therapy is a potential strategy to increase family support for those suffering from perinatal depression. Family therapeutic interventions for this population typically target depressed women and their adult family members to improve family functioning and reduce depressive symptoms.ObjectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis is a synthesis of the current evidence on the usefulness of family therapy interventions in the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression and impacts on maternal depressive symptoms and family functioning.MethodsThis study used the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Six electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials and cluster randomized trials. The primary outcomes included maternal depressive symptoms and family functioning.ResultsSeven studies were included in the qualitative and quantitative analyses. Fixed effects models showed statistically significant reductions in depressive symptoms at post-intervention in intervention group mothers. Intervention intensity and level of family involvement moderated intervention impacts on maternal depression. A fixed effects model showed a trend in improving family functioning at post-intervention in intervention group couples.ConclusionAlthough a limited number of controlled trials on family therapeutic interventions for this population exist, the findings show that these types of interventions are effective in both the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression. Recommendations for future research are addressed.Systematic review and meta-analysis protocol registrationPROSPERO, CRD42017075150.
Highlights
Perinatal depression has become a growing problem worldwide
This study seeks to answer the following research question: What evidence exists on the effectiveness of family therapeutic interventions for the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression? We hypothesized that intervention impacts on maternal depressive symptoms and family functioning would be moderated by intervention intensity, level of family involvement, and dosage
Since moderation analysis could only be performed with a minimum of five studies, we were unable to test the models in which the family therapeutic interventions were based as a moderator for the two treatment studies
Summary
Perinatal depression has become a growing problem worldwide. Depressive symptoms develop anytime during pregnancy or within the first year after childbirth [1]. Research has shown that untreated perinatal depression can adversely affect birth outcomes [5,6], result in poor maternal-infant interaction [7,8] and increase the risk for child maltreatment [9]. For these reasons, many professional organizations (e.g., American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Academy of Pediatrics) have recommended the use of depression screening measures in primary care settings and raised awareness of the need for treatment. Therapeutic interventions for this population typically target depressed women and their adult family members to improve family functioning and reduce depressive symptoms
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