Is maternal depression related to side of infant holding?

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 Ch teau, 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.