Twelve-month old infants (N ϭ 76) experienced 4 situations of unresponsiveness in which their mothers and a stranger directed positive attention toward a doll or a picture book while they ignored the infant. Infants demonstrated more protest, negative vocalizations and inhibited play during the doll condition, particularly if the doll was held by the mother. Infant contacts with the mother were more frequent when the mother held the doll. Infants' distress during the mother/doll condition was interpreted as jealousy.

To determine whether infants of “depressed” mothers interact better with their nondepressed fathers, twenty‐six 3‐ to 6‐month‐old infants were videotaped during face‐to‐face interactions with their parents. The “depressed” mother group consisted of twelve 3‐ to 6‐month‐old infants and their “depressed” mothers and nondepressed fathers. The control group was composed of 14 nondepressed mothers and nondepressed fathers and their 3‐ to 6‐month‐old infants. In the “depressed” mother group, the nondepressed fathers received better interaction ratings than the “depressed” mothers. In turn, the infants received better interaction ratings when they interacted with their nondepressed fathers than with their “depressed” mothers. In contrast, nondepressed fathers and mothers and their infants in the control group did not differ on any of their interaction ratings. These findings suggest that infants' difficult interaction behaviors noted during interactions with their “depressed” mothers may not extend to their nondepressed fathers. The data are discussed with respect to the notion that nondepressed fathers may “buffer” the effects of maternal depression on infant interaction behavior.

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Fifty-four depressed and non-depressed mothers were interviewed when their infants were 3 and 12 months of age. The depressed mothers assigned greater vulnerability scores and their infants engaged in less exploratory play and had lower Bayley mental and motor scores. The depressed mothers' vulnerability scores at 3 months were related to less exploratory play in their infants as well as lower Bayley mental scores at 12 months.