The Functions of Postpartum Depression



psychological pain hypothesis. Several symptoms of PPD, especially in its major form, do not
appear consistent with the psychological pain hypothesis, however. These symptoms have the
effect of preventing the mother from providing a wide range of benefits to either herself or to
others. Given that two major adaptive problems faced by mothers during the puerperium are to
either elicit investment from others or to avoid the imposition of social costs, and that credible
threats of defection from social contracts are an effective negotiating tactic, major depression
may thus be viewed as an adaptation to elicit greater investment or to reduce the mother’s
investment while avoiding social costs by making just such a credible threat of defection.

Although the data presented above may be consistent with hypotheses and theoretical
approaches to PPD not discussed in this paper, they do suggest that the defection hypothesis
deserves serious consideration as a possible explanation for certain aspects of this affliction.
Because many researchers argue that there is little to distinguish PPD from depression
occurring at other times (O’Hara & Zekoski, 1988; Watson, Elliott, Rugg & Brough, 1984;
Whiffen, 1991; Whiffen, 1992; Whiffen & Gotlib, 1993), any conclusion reached for PPD may
also be applicable to depression in general. The ability to defect from costly ventures has
obvious utility, and many researchers argue that this ability is one of the foundations of
cooperative behavior—cooperation cannot evolve if individuals have no means to renegotiate
or terminate costly relationships (see Axelrod & Dion, 1988 for a review). If depression is a
strategy that humans use to renegotiate or defect from costly social relationships, it would be
significant in understanding the evolution of cooperation.

The puerperium is an ideal venue for studying the evolution of social cognition since
parents predictably encounter costs and benefits that are both large and well defined from an
evolutionary perspective. Furthermore, the data described herein provide solid evidence that at
least one category of puerperal decision-making adheres closely to evolutionary expectations.

28



More intriguing information

1. he Virtual Playground: an Educational Virtual Reality Environment for Evaluating Interactivity and Conceptual Learning
2. Outsourcing, Complementary Innovations and Growth
3. Should informal sector be subsidised?
4. The name is absent
5. Announcement effects of convertible bond loans versus warrant-bond loans: An empirical analysis for the Dutch market
6. The name is absent
7. An Incentive System for Salmonella Control in the Pork Supply Chain
8. Density Estimation and Combination under Model Ambiguity
9. Anti Microbial Resistance Profile of E. coli isolates From Tropical Free Range Chickens
10. The WTO and the Cartagena Protocol: International Policy Coordination or Conflict?
11. THE MEXICAN HOG INDUSTRY: MOVING BEYOND 2003
12. Strategic Planning on the Local Level As a Factor of Rural Development in the Republic of Serbia
13. MATHEMATICS AS AN EXACT AND PRECISE LANGUAGE OF NATURE
14. Intertemporal Risk Management Decisions of Farmers under Preference, Market, and Policy Dynamics
15. The name is absent
16. The economic doctrines in the wine trade and wine production sectors: the case of Bastiat and the Port wine sector: 1850-1908
17. Draft of paper published in:
18. The Value of Cultural Heritage Sites in Armenia: Evidence From a Travel Cost Method Study
19. Policy Formulation, Implementation and Feedback in EU Merger Control
20. The name is absent