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Eric Dearing, PhD, Beck A. Taylor, PhD and Kathleen McCartney, PhD

At the time the study began, Eric Dearing was with Judge Baker Children’s Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass; he now is with the Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie. At the time the study began, Beck A. Taylor was with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass; he now is with Baylor University, Waco, Tex. Kathleen McCartney is with the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Eric Dearing, Department of Psychology, Biological Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 (e-mail: deariner{at}uwyo.edu; beck_taylor{at}baylor.edu).

Objectives. We examined within-person associations between changes in family income and women’s depressive symptoms during the first 3 years after childbirth.

Methods. Data were analyzed for 1351 women (mean baseline age = 28.13 years) who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Nineteen percent of these women belonged to an ethnic minority, and 35% were poor at some time during the study.

Results. Changes in income and poverty status were significantly associated with changes in depressive symptoms. Effects were greatest for chronically poor women and for women who perceived fewer costs associated with their employment.

Conclusions. Given that women head most poor households in the United States, our findings indicate that reductions in poverty would have mental health benefits for women and families.

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