1. Introduction Research Question ▪ Approximately 13% of mothers and fathers in the community develop clinical levels of depressive symptoms after the birth of a child, referred to as postpartum depression (PPD). ▪ PPD is associated with a number of negative consequences for the entire family, (e.g., increased risk for later parental depression and suicide, accidents with the infant, infanticide, and problematic parent-child, marital, and family relationships. ▪ PPD has been examined primarily amongst mothers. ▪ Parental self-efficacy (PSE), the expectations that parents hold about their ability to parent successfully, has been found to predictor of postpartum depressive symptoms (PPDS) amongst mothers (Cutrona & Troutman, 1986; Gross et al., 1994; Olioff & Aboud, 1991). With the dearth of knowledge about PSE and PPD amongst fathers, more research in this area is needed. ▪ Cutrona & Troutman (1986) found PSE to mediate the relationship between infant negativity and maternal PPDS, such that greater infant difficulty was related to lower PSE, which was related to increased maternal PPDS. ▪ This study assesses whether the findings of Cutrona and Troutman (1986) can be replicated amongst first-time mothers and extended to first-time fathers. Participant Demographics Mothers (n = 72) Fathers (n = 72) Non-clinical community sample Age (years) M 28.7 SD 5.4 Range 18-40 M 30.8 SD 6.3 Range 19-57 Infant Age 3 months of age Education 77% reported post-secondary education 75.7% reported post-secondary education Total Family Income 69.3% reported an annual income of greater than $60,000 Results Amongst mothers, infant negativity was a significant predictor of PPDS (B = 0.24, p <.05). However, when PSE was tested as a mediator, the relationship ceased to be significant (Sobel test: z = 2.47, p =.01). Specifically, mothers who reported more infant negativity also reported less PSE and more postpartum depressive symptoms. While infant negativity was a significant negative predictor of paternal PSE, neither were predictive of PPDS. Discussion ▪ As expected, this study found that PSE mediated the relationship between infant negativity and PPDS amongst mothers, replicating the findings of Cutrona and Troutman (1986). This pattern of relationships was not found amongst fathers, suggesting predictors of PPDS may differ for men and women. ▪ In this sample of Canadian women on maternity leave, it may be that the mothers were more focused on their success at parenting than the fathers who were also employed outside the home, and thus PSE was more directly tied to PPDS for these mothers. ▪ As this study focused on postpartum depressive symptomatology but not clinical postpartum depression, efforts should be made to explore PSE in a clinical sample. ▪ Since much of the PPDS literature focuses on mothers, while largely ignoring fathers, it is clear that more research is needed to facilitate our understanding of paternal PPDS. ▪ Future research should examine how differential parental experiences of postpartum depression may relate to other aspects of child-, parent-, and family functioning. Does PSE mediate the relationship between infant negativity and PPDS amongst first-time mothers and fathers? The Relationship Between Infant Negativity, Parental Self-Efficacy, and Postpartum Depression in First-Time Mothers and Fathers. Methods e-mail: kathy.kat.chan@gmail.com Kathy Chan, Phillip R. Sevigny, and Lynn Loutzenhiser Measures VariableQuestionnaire Chronbach’s Alpha (α) Infant Negativity Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, Fussy Difficult Temperament subscale (Bates, Freeland, & Lounsbury, 1979) Mothers:.83 Fathers:.81 Parental Self-Efficacy (PSE) Self-efficacy in the nurturing role scale (Porter & Hsu, 2003) Mothers:.78 Fathers:.83 Postpartum Depressive Symptoms (PPDS) Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) Mothers:.84 Fathers:.81 Analyses Multiple hierarchical regressions were conducted separately for mothers and fathers to assess the mediating role of PSE in the relationship between infant negativity and PPDS. Thus, while PSE plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between infant negativity and PPDS amongst mothers, it does not amongst fathers.