Researchers have renewed an
interest in the harmful consequences of poverty on child development. This study
builds on this work by focusing on one mechanism that links material hardship to
child outcomes, namely the mediating effect of maternal depression. Using data
from the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, we found that maternal
depression and poverty jeopardized the development of very young boys and girls,
and to a certain extent, affluence buffered the deleterious consequences of
depression. Results also showed that chronic maternal depression had severe
implications for both boys and girls, whereas persistent poverty had a strong
effect for the development of girls. The measures of poverty and maternal
depression used in this study generally had a greater impact on measures of
cognitive development than motor development.