Challenging the Sensitive Window Hypothesis: Timing Effects of Maternal Depressive Symptoms on the Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment and Psychopathology in the Next Generation.

The present findings suggest that early maternal depression followed by ongoing maternal depression plays a mediating role in the intergenerational cycle of maltreatment. Therefore, in the future, interventions should be offered at an early stage, but also extend well beyond the first 2 years of a child's life, addressing maternal depression and trauma.