Discrepancies among mother,child, and teacher reports: Examining the contributions of maternal depression and anxiety

The relationship between maternal affective symptomatology and discrepancies in maternal reports of child symptoms, relative to teacher and child reports, was evaluated in a community sample of 188 children ages 9–12 years. Mothers, teachers, and children were administered a structured interview about child psychopathology. In general, mothers reported more child behavior problems than children and teachers, regardless of maternal symptomatology. However, maternal affective symptoms were associated with discrepancies between mothers' and daughters' reports and between mothers' and teachers' reports of girls' externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, mothers who reported high levels of both anxiety and depressive symptomatology tended to report a large number of symptoms that were not confirmed by either their daughters or teachers. Findings are discussed as possible evidence of the role of maternal affective symptomatology in both actual increases in child symptomatology and maternal reporting distortions. Although maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms shared variance in reporting discrepancies, only anxiety explained unique variance. Consistent with previous studies, cross-informant agreement was modest to moderate (r= .16 to .50) and all informants reported more behavior problems in boys than in girls. This work was undertaken with the support of National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH43909 and MH46717.     

Mother-child relationships of children with ADHD: the role of maternal depressive symptoms and depression-related distortions

We investigated the DepressionDistortion hypothesis by examining the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on cross-informant discrepancies in reports of child behavior problems and several measures of parent–child relationship. The sample included ninety-six 6 to 10-year-old children diagnosed with ADHD-Combined Type, and their mothers, who provided baseline data before participating in a randomized clinical trial. Measures incorporated child characteristics, self-reports of maternal depressive symptoms, parenting practices, and laboratory mother–child interactions. Elevations in maternal depressive symptoms were associated with maternal reports of negative parenting style but not with observed laboratory interactions. Mothers' levels of depressive symptoms predicted negative biases in their reports of their child's ADHD symptoms, general behavior problems, and their own negative parenting style. Whereas levels of depressive symptoms did not predict observed parenting behaviors, maternal distortions did predict problematic parent–child interactions. Exploratory analyses showed a marginally significant mediation effect of the relationship between maternal depressive symptomatology and reports of negative parenting by depressive distortions. We discuss implications of linkages between depressive symptoms in mothers, depression-related distortions, and mother–child relationships for research and intervention in developmental psychopathology.     

Current and Past Maternal Depression, Maternal Interaction Behaviors, and Children’s Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms

Relations among past maternal depressive disorder, current depressive symptoms, current maternal interaction behaviors, and children's adjustment were examined in a sample of 204 women and their young adolescent offspring (mean age = 11.86, SD = 0.55). Mothers either had (n = 157) or had not (n = 57) experienced at least one depressive disorder during the child's life. Mothers and children participated in a problem-solving task, video-taped for later coding. Mothers with current depressive symptoms and those with histories of chronic/severe depressive disorders displayed fewer positive behaviors toward their children; mothers with current depressive symptoms also showed more negative behaviors with their children. The relation between mothers' depression history and their behavior during the interaction with their child was partially mediated by mothers' current mood state. Moreover, high levels of maternal negativity and low levels of positivity during the problem-solving task were related to children's externalizing problems. Maternal positivity partially mediated the relation between maternal depression and children's externalizing symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of providing parenting interventions for depressed mothers.     

The Effects of Strategic and Behavioral Family Therapies on Child Behavior and Depression

The efficacy of behavioral and strategic approaches to child-focused family therapy for child behavior and depressive symptomatology was investigated. Participants were 49 clinic-referred families who were randomly assigned to either behavioral or strategic family therapy for 8 to 12 weeks and assessed at pre- and post-test. Results showed that both forms of therapy were equally effective in reducing parent-reported behavior problems and depression in children. In addition, the relationship between child and maternal depression was explored. Significant relationships were found between pre-test levels of depression in children as reported by mothers and mothers' self-reported depression, psychological stress and level of interpersonal discomfort. The results support a relationship between child and maternal depression. The findings also suggest that child-focused family therapy can be effective for both behavioral and depressive symptoms.     

Do Mothers and Fathers Perceive Their Child’s Problems and Prosocial Behaviors Differently?

The aim of this study was to compare mothers’ and fathers’ ratings of their young children’s problems and prosocial behaviors using the Korean version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Furthermore, the present study examined whether parental depressive symptoms were linked to agreement between mothers’ and fathers’ ratings of their young children’s behavior. The sample consisted of 302 parents whose 5-year-old children attended childcare centers in Korea. The parents completed the Korean version of the SDQ and the Center for the Epidemiological Studies of Depression short form. The results revealed that both the mothers’ and fathers’ reports moderately correlated for both boys and girls, with greater correlations for externalizing problems than for internalizing problems. Whereas there were no significant differences between mothers’ and fathers’ reports of their children’s problems, mothers reported significantly more prosocial behaviors than fathers did, regardless of the child’s gender. Polynomial regression showed that mothers’ reports were more strongly associated with fathers’ report of their children’s prosocial behavior when mothers reported lower levels of depressive symptoms. The findings provide empirical evidence that mothers and fathers reported more similarities than differences in assessing child problems. Further analyses suggest considering maternal depressive symptoms when interpreting interparental agreement on their children’s prosocial behaviors.     

Maternal depressive symptomatology and child behavior: transactional relationship with simultaneous bidirectional coupling

The present study investigated reciprocal relationships between adolescent mothers and their children's well-being through an analysis of the coupling relationship of mothers' depressive symptomatology and children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Unlike studies using discrete time analyses, the present study used dynamical systems to model time continuously, which allowed for the study of dynamic, transactional effects between members of each dyad. Findings provided evidence of coupling between maternal depressive symptoms and children's behaviors. The most robust finding was that as maternal depressive symptoms became more or less severe, children's behavior problems increased or decreased in a reciprocal manner. Results from this study extended upon theoretical contributions of such authors as Richters (1997) and Granic and Hollenstein (2003), providing empirical validation from a longitudinal study for understanding the ongoing, dynamic relationships between at-risk mothers and their children.     

Maternal depression and its relationship to life stress,perceptions of child behavior problems,parenting behaviors,and child conduct problems

This study examined the relationship of reported maternal depression to prior and current life stressors, and to mother perceptions of child adjustment, parenting behaviors, and child conduct problems. Forty-six depressed mothers and 49 nondepressed mothers and their clinic-referred children (aged 3-8 years) participated. Depressed mothers were more critical than nondepressed mothers, but the behavior of children of depressed and nondepressed mothers showed no significant differences. Depressed mothers were more likely to have experience child abuse, spouse abuse, or more negative life events than nondepressed mothers. Maternal reports of stress related to mother characteristics and to negative life events were the most potent variables discriminating depressed from nondepressed mother families.     

The Relation Between Co-rumination, Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Psychopathology

Little is known about which processes explain the well-established link between maternal and child symptomatology. Interpersonal coping processes may be worth exploring, as depressed mothers have characteristic coping styles that may influence interactions with their children. We examined two interpersonal coping processes as potential factors explaining how depressive symptomatology in mothers impacts child psychopathology: parent-child co-rumination (dwelling on negative affect, over-analyzing problems) and impaired problem-solving. We analyzed 198 aggressive children (most of whom also had elevated internalizing symptoms) who engaged in structured discussions with their mothers. Coders rated the extent to which dyads problem-solved and co-ruminated during discussions, and mothers filled out questionnaires assessing maternal and child symptoms. Path analysis tested whether higher levels of co-rumination and poor problem-solving statistically mediated the relation between depressive symptoms in mothers and child internalizing and externalizing behaviour. Maternal depressive symptomatology was correlated with greater child symptoms, higher rates of co-rumination and poorer problem-solving. Statistical mediation was non-significant. Results support the established link between maternal depression and child psychopathology, and suggest that dysphoric mothers and their children engage in maladaptive coping interactions.     

Maternal Depressive Symptomatology and Parenting Behavior: Exploration of Possible Mediators

Possible mediators of the relation between maternal depressive symptomatology and parenting behavior were examined for 96 children with ADHD and their mothers drawn from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) as part of an add-on investigation conducted by two of the six MTA sites. General cognitions (i.e., maternal locus of control and self-esteem) and parenting-specific factors (i.e., maternal parenting efficacy and parenting stress) were examined as possible mediators. Findings provide initial support that maternal parenting stress, as well as maternal locus of control and self-esteem mediate the relation between maternal depressive symptomatology and parenting behavior. This provides support for the argument that some families of children with ADHD may benefit from an expanded version of parent management training that includes sessions directly targeting affective and cognitive factors in parents, similar to treatment programs used to treat childhood conduct problems.     

Chronicity, severity, and timing of maternal depressive symptoms: relationships with child outcomes at age 5

The relationships between severity, chronicity, and timing of maternal depressive symptoms and child outcomes were examined in a cohort of 4,953 children. Mothers provided self-reports of depressive symptoms during pregnancy, immediately postpartum, and when the child was 6 months old and 5 years old. At the age 5 follow-up, mothers reported on children's behavior and children completed a receptive vocabulary test. Results suggest that both the severity and the chronicity of maternal depressive symptoms are related to more behavior problems and lower vocabulary scores in children. The interaction of severity and chronicity of maternal depressive symptoms was significantly related to higher levels of child behavior problems. Timing of maternal symptoms was not significantly related to child vocabulary scores, but more recent reports of maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher rates of child behavior problems.     

Effects of Concerns About Child Care Among Single, Employed Black Mothers with Preschool Children

This study investigated whether differences in child care arrangements and mothers' attitudes about leaving their child in nonmaternal care were associated with maternal psychological well-being and perceptions of children in a sample of single, employed, low-income, Black mothers who were former welfare recipients. Feelings of discomfort with regard to nonmaternal care were associated with higher levels of maternal depressive symptomatology, which, in turn, predicted more negative perceptions of children. Preference for employment and increased working hours were associated with greater life satisfaction. Maternal education and the gender of the child were important moderating variables. Type of child care arrangement was nonsignificant. Policy implications are discussed.     

Exploring the Relationships Between Maternal Mental Health Symptoms and Young Children’s Functioning in a Low-Income,Minority Sample

Poor maternal mental health, including depression and high stress levels, can negatively impact many domains of child development, particularly among low-income, ethnic minority families experiencing multiple stressors. Low-income minority mothers, particularly Hispanic mothers, are also at increased risk of experiencing exposure to community violence and other types of trauma. However, studies exploring the additional impact of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s functioning are rare. This study aims to address this gap by examining the impact of maternal trauma symptoms on young children’s functioning in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic sample through the mechanisms of maternal depressive symptoms, and mother’s experiences of parenting stress and strain. The sample consisted of 158 biological mothers (58% Hispanic, 13% African American, 5.7% White American) who were participating in community-based mental health treatment for their children (M_AGE?=?3.7, SD?=?1.2). Mothers completed questionnaires providing information on their children’s behaviors and their own mental health and stress levels at intake. Path analysis indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems through maternal depressive symptoms and maternal stress in the parent-child relationship (β?=?0.09, p?<?0.01). In addition, there was a direct effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems (β?=?0.32, p?<?0.001). The results suggest that maternal trauma symptoms, in addition to maternal depressive symptoms, contribute to poor maternal and child functioning.     

The Effects of Family and Neighborhood Characteristics on the Behavioral and Cognitive Development of Poor Black Children: A Longitudinal Study

Using data from an ongoing study of 178 single-mother, Black families, this study investigates the relations among family resources (mothers' employment, income from employment, and educational attainment), maternal depressive symptoms, neighborhood quality in the preschool years and over time, and child developmental outcomes (behavior problems, broad reading, calculation) in the early school years. Results indicate that behavior problems in school-age children were associated with behavior problems early on, the child's gender, the mother's depressive symptoms and, to some extent, her employment status. However, these findings were conditioned by the mother's educational attainment and her evaluation of neighborhood problems early on. Better broad reading scores were associated with higher maternal educational attainment, especially for school-age girls of employed mothers, whereas higher calculation scores were predicted by fewer school-age behavior problems and, in the presence of higher neighborhood problems in the preschool years, mothers' higher educational attainment.     

儿童早期的母亲生活压力对其5岁行为问题的预测效应：链式中介分析

通过对107名幼儿及其母亲历时5年的5次追踪测量, 考察了儿童早期(9~38个月)母亲生活压力对5岁时儿童行为问题的预测效应及其作用机制。结果发现, 在儿童早期, 母亲生活压力具有相对的稳定性, 但引起母亲生活压力的主要生活事件排序有所变化; 儿童早期母亲生活压力对儿童行为问题的作用机制有两种方式：一方面表现为母亲生活压力对儿童5岁时的情绪症状和品行问题的直接效应; 另一方面表现为通过减少母亲积极养育行为进一步影响儿童情绪症状和同伴问题的间接效应; 此外, 儿童早期母亲生活压力还通过积极养育和儿童努力控制的链式中介作用对儿童过度活跃和亲社会行为产生影响。结论:母亲生活压力对儿童行为问题具有预测效应, 这种效应的机制包括母亲生活压力的直接效应以及通过积极养育、努力控制的间接效应。     

The Mediating Role of Autonomy and Relatedness on Maternal and Child Outcomes

The current study examined the mediating role of both mother and child interactive behaviors, which granted or undermined autonomy and relatedness, on the bidirectional and longitudinal association between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing behaviors, as well as the association between maternal substance use and child externalizing behaviors. Child’s sex and mother’s drug of choice were explored as potential moderators of the mediation relationship. Data were collected from 183 dyads including treatment-seeking substance using mothers and their children (95 males, aged between 8 and 16 years old). Structural equation modeling analysis showed girls’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors at the 3-month follow-up were negatively associated with the same behaviors at the 12-month follow-up through increased relatedness undermining behaviors from their mothers at the 6-month follow-up. Among mothers with opioids as their drug of choice (DOC), children’s externalizing behaviors at the 3-month follow-up were positively associated with mothers’ substance use at the 12-month follow-up through the elevated levels of mothers’ relatedness undermining behaviors at the 6-month follow-up. Among mothers with alcohol as their DOC, maternal depressive symptoms at the 3-month follow-up were positively related to children’s internalizing behaviors at the 12-month follow-up through reduced relatedness undermining behaviors exhibited by mothers at the 6-month follow-up. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to attempt to unravel these longitudinal and bidirectional influences as well as the moderated mediation pathways among families with a substance using mothers.     

The Relation Between Maternal ADHD Symptoms &; Improvement in Child Behavior Following Brief Behavioral Parent Training is Mediated by Change in Negative Parenting

This study examined the extent to which maternal attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms predict improvement in child behavior following brief behavioral parent training. Change in parenting was examined as a potential mediator of the negative relationship between maternal ADHD symptoms and improvement in child behavior. Seventy mothers of 6–10 year old children with ADHD underwent a comprehensive assessment of adult ADHD prior to participating in an abbreviated parent training program. Before and after treatment, parenting was assessed via maternal reports and observations and child disruptive behavior was measured via maternal report. Controlling for pre-treatment levels, maternal ADHD symptomatology predicted post-treatment child disruptive behavior problems. The relation between maternal ADHD symptomatology and improvement in child behavior was mediated by change in observed maternal negative parenting. This study replicated findings linking maternal ADHD symptoms with attenuated child improvement following parent training, and is the first to demonstrate that negative parenting at least partially explains this relationship. Innovative approaches combining evidence-based treatment for adult ADHD with parent training may therefore be necessary for families in which both the mother and child have ADHD. Larger-scale studies using a full evidence-based parent training program are needed to replicate these findings.     

The specificity of maternal parenting behavior and child adjustment difficulties: a study of inner-city African American families.

The specificity of the association between 2 parenting behaviors (warmth and supervision) and 2 indicators, aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms, of major child outcomes (externalizing problems and internalizing problems) was examined among 196 inner-city African American mothers and their school age children. Given the growing number of African American families affected by HIV/AIDS and demonstrated compromises in parenting associated with maternal infection, the moderating role of maternal HIV/AIDS was also examined. Findings from longitudinal analyses supported the specificity of maternal warmth but not of maternal supervision. Maternal warmth was a stronger predictor of decreases in child aggressive behavior than of decreases in depressive symptoms. In addition, maternal warmth was a stronger predictor of decreases in aggressive behavior than was maternal supervision. Parenting specificity was not moderated by maternal HIV/AIDS. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Maternal BIS Sensitivity, Overprotective Parenting, and Children's Internalizing Behaviors

Although sensitivity to the Behavioral Inhibition System within Gray's (1970) reinforcement sensitivity theory relates to individuals' own depressive and anxious symptomatology, less is known about how parental BIS sensitivity relates to early indicators of internalizing problems in young children. Moreover, the extent to which this parental characteristic relates to parenting behavior, and children's internalizing problems above and beyond parenting, remains unknown. The current study assessed maternal BIS sensitivity, overprotective parenting, and toddlers' internalizing behaviors in a sample of 91 mothers while controlling for mothers' own internalizing symptomatology. Heightened BIS sensitivity related to both overprotective parenting and internalizing behaviors. Overprotective parenting partially mediated the relation between BIS sensitivity and children's internalizing behaviors, although BIS sensitivity maintained a marginal relation to internalizing behaviors. Maternal BIS sensitivity and toddler internalizing behaviors may represent a shared disposition towards inhibition that is somewhat accounted for by overprotective parenting.     

Predicting stability and change in toddler behavior problems: contributions of maternal behavior and child gender

This study examined the stability and continuity of early-identified behavior problems and the factors associated with this stability. Children and their mothers (N=125) were seen when the children were 2 and 4 years of age. Maternal reports of child externalizing behavior and laboratory observations of child noncompliance were stable from age 2 to age 4. Early externalizing behaviors decreased over time; however, child noncompliance in the laboratory did not. Although few associations were found between maternal positive behavior and child behavior problems, maternal controlling behavior was related to increases in child behavior problems, particularly at high levels of both prior noncompliance and prior maternal control. Child noncompliance was predictive of increases in maternal controlling behavior over time.     

Maternal personality influences the relationship between maternal reports and laboratory measures of child temperament

Previous research has indicated that agreement between maternal reports of child temperament and laboratory measures is modest; however, it is unclear whether maternal characteristics influence convergence between methods. We examined whether mothers' personality influenced agreement between maternal reports and observational measures of child traits. A total of 64 mothers and children participated in this study. Maternal negative emotionality (NE) moderated the relationship between maternal reports and laboratory measures of child temperament: Greater convergence was found between maternal ratings of children's negative emotional traits and laboratory measures for mothers with higher NE than mothers with lower NE. Findings are consistent with the possibility that mothers' own traits influence the extent to which they successfully encode and/or report on analogous child behaviors.