%0 Journal Article
%T Is maternal depression related to side of infant holding?
%J International journal of behavioral development
%D 2004
%A Harris, Lauren Julius
%A von Eye, Alexander
%A Bogat, G. Anne
%A Levendosky, Alytia A.
%A Almerigi, Jason B.
%A Weatherill, Robin P.
%V 28
%N 5
%P 421-427
%X Studies show that 65–85% of mothers hold their infants on the left side of their own body and that this left-bias may be reduced or reversed when mothers have symptoms similar to depression or dysphoria (de Château, Holmberg, & Winberg, 1978). No studies, however, have used diagnostic criteria to assess the mother’s psychological state. The current study examined the relationship between maternal report of depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory and holding-side bias in a high-risk sample of 177 mothers participating with their infants in a larger longitudinal study of mother–infant relationships and domestic violence. Mothers classified as nondepressed showed a significant left-bias; those classified as depressed showed a nonsignificant right-bias; mothers who reported experiencing domestic violence also showed a reduced left-bias. The results are interpreted in terms of current theory and research on lateralised hemispheric activation and depression.<p />
%G 
%I SAGE Publishing
%@ 0165-0254
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01650250444000117