Perinatal Emotion and Relationships Longitudinal Study
Perinatal Emotion and Relationships Longitudinal Study
This study, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, will examine birth and the early
 postpartum period (BEPP) as a transformative life experience that may shift women's
 experience of emotion in such ways as to a) support enhanced other-oriented emotions and b)
 underlie risk or resilience from psychopathology.
Specifically, the study will investigate the extent to which women can accurately have
 knowledge about and predict changes in self- and other-oriented emotion processes associated
 with BEPP. The investigators will also characterize the extent to which BEPP changes self-
 and other-oriented emotion processes and self- and other-oriented social behaviors. Further,
 the investigators will identify distinct trajectories of change in cognitive processes and
 self- and other-oriented emotion processes related to BEPP, and examine how those
 trajectories are associated with psychological adjustment (e.g., risk and relapse of
 psychopathology). Finally, the investigators will identify which particular features of BEPP
 are related to distinct patterns of change in self- and other-oriented emotion processes.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Over age 18

 -  Female

 -  Currently pregnant - approximately no more than 34 weeks gestational age

 -  Able to read and write in English fluently

 -  MDD Group: Meet DSM-IV/DSM-5 criteria for at least 1 past episode of Major Depressive
 Disorder

 -  MDD Group: DO NOT meet DSM-IV/DSM-5 criteria for any episodes of Major Depressive
 Disorder in past 2 months (currently in symptom remission)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Previous birth to a living child (i.e., this pregnancy is not their first child)

 -  Imminently suicidal or homicidal

 -  History of severe head trauma, stroke, neurological disease

 -  History of brain tumors or surgery

 -  Severe medical illness (e.g., autoimmune disorder, blindness, cardiovascular disease,
 HIV/AIDS)

 -  Endocrine disorders (e.g., Cushing's disease, thyroid disorder)

 -  Alcohol/substance abuse or dependence within the past six months

 -  Current psychotic episode (impairing ability to consent, participate, or keep patient
 and experimenter safe)

 -  Inability to follow study procedures

 -  CTL Group: Current or lifetime Axis I disorder (i.e., anxiety disorders, major
 depression, mania/hypomania, dysthymia, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder,
 substance abuse/dependence, eating disorders, hypochondriasis, pain disorder, or
 adjustment disorders)