OK, so let’s dive right into it! The overall purpose of this study example is to investigate the relationship between postpartum depression in mothers and the risk of psychiatric problems in their children.

This is what we know:

• All children included in the study were born in the year 1995 (exact date unknown).
• Postpartum depression in mothers is operationalized as a diagnosis of postpartum depression within three months after the child’s birth.
• The psychiatric problems in children are operationalized as visits to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic (BUP) between the ages of 2 and 17 (1997-2012). The date variable refers to the date of the first BUP visit.
• Time under risk is operationalized as the time from the start of the follow-up period, i.e., January 1, 1997, to the date of the first BUP visit. The follow-up period ends on December 31, 2012.

Research questions:

1. Is there a relationship between postpartum depression in mothers and psychiatric problems in children?

2. Is this relationship explained by the mother’s level of education, family type, child’s gender, and/or social support?

3. Does the relationship differ depending on the level of social support that the mother had during the child’s first year of life?