Maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity are related to young children's facial expression recognition: The Generation R Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eszter Székely ◽  
Nicole Lucassen ◽  
Henning Tiemeier ◽  
Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg ◽  
Marinus H. Van Ijzendoorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Children's Emotion ◽  
Processing Abilities

AbstractA vast body of literature shows that maternal depression has long-term adverse consequences for children. However, only very few studies have documented the effect of maternal depression on children's ability to process emotional expressions and even fewer incorporated measures of observed maternal sensitivity to further tease apart whether it is the symptoms per se or the associated impact via maternal sensitivity that affects children's developing emotion-processing abilities. In a large community sample of Dutch preschoolers (N = 770), we examined independent and mediated effects of maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity on children's ability to recognize emotional expressions using a nonverbal and a verbal task paradigm. Maternal depressive symptoms predicted less accurate emotion labeling in children, while maternal sensitivity was associated with more accurate emotion matching, especially for sadness and anger. Maternal sensitivity did not mediate the observed associations between mothers’ depressive symptoms and children's emotion recognition, and effects were similar for boys and girls. Given that maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity affected nonoverlapping areas of young children's emotion recognition, prevention and intervention efforts should focus on both alleviating maternal depressive symptoms and improving maternal sensitivity at the same time in order to maximize benefit.

Mothers’ Personal and Interpersonal Function as Potential Mediators Between Maternal Maltreatment History and Child Behavior Problems

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Pereira ◽  
Jaclyn A. Ludmer ◽  
Andrea Gonzalez ◽  
Leslie Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Child Behavior ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Behavioral Observation ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Avoidant Attachment

This study examined maternal depressive symptoms, social support, parenting, and adult attachment as mediators explaining the relation between maternal childhood maltreatment and child behavior in offspring. We assessed a community sample of 96 mother–child dyads. At child age 16 months, mothers self-reported maltreatment history, adult attachment, depressive symptoms, and social support, and maternal sensitivity was assessed via 2 hr of direct behavioral observation. Maternal reports of child behavior were collected at 5 years. Single and parallel mediation models were constructed. Only maternal depressive symptoms mediated the relation between maternal maltreatment history and children’s internalizing problems. Maternal sensitivity emerged as a suppressor variable. With respect to the relation between maternal maltreatment history and children’s externalizing problems, when entered singly, maternal depressive symptoms, social support, and avoidant attachment emerged as mediators. When examined in parallel, only maternal depressive symptoms and avoidant attachment accounted for unique mediating variance. Findings have implications with respect to important maternal factors that might be targeted to reduce the probability of maladaptive child behavior.

scholarly journals Family dynamics. An exploration of parental sensitivity and depressive symptoms among mothers and fathers of toddlers

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Muzard ◽  
Marcia Olhaberry ◽  
Nina Immel ◽  
Javier Moran-Kneer
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Parental Depression ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Parental Sensitivity ◽  
Mothers And Fathers ◽  
The Impact

In studies of maternal sensitivity, the influence of mothers’ depressive symptomatology has been consistently highlighted. Additionally, the relevance of both maternal and paternal sensitive responses to children’s development has been recognized. However, literature regarding the dynamics of the mother-father-toddler triad is scarce. This is particularly true when understanding how parental sensitivity may be bidirectionally shaped by both parents’ (i.e., mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptomatology) and children’s characteristics (i.e., age). Hence, the present study aims to describe and analyse the associations between parental depression, paternal sensitivity and children’s socioemotional difficulties and age with mothers’ sensitive responses to highlight the appropriateness of considering fathers’ depressive symptoms and sensitivity to better understand the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology on mothers’ sensitivity. The participants included 80 Chilean mother-father-child triads in which all children were between 1 and 3 years of age and presented some degree of socioemotional difficulty. The results reveal no differences in maternal and paternal sensitivity or higher depressive symptomatology in mothers than in fathers. Additionally, while mothers’ depression was significantly associated with their sensitivity, this was not the case for fathers. Paternal depressive symptomatology was associated with the mother’s depression. Finally, paternal sensitivity emerged as a mediator between maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity. This result calls attention to the use of paternal variables to understand how maternal depression impacts mothers’ sensitivity and to thus develop appropriate interventions that expand the scope of such impacts from the dyad to the triad.

scholarly journals Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and offspring’s risk behavior in early adolescence: data from the 2004 Pelotas birth cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Beatriz Bozzini ◽  
Jessica Mayumi Maruyama ◽  
Tiago N. Munhoz ◽  
Aluísio J. D. Barros ◽  
Fernando C. Barros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Risk Behavior ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms

Abstract Background This longitudinal study explored the relationship between trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and offspring’s risk behavior in adolescence contributing to an extremely scarce literature about the impacts of maternal depression trajectories on offspring risk behaviors. Methods We included 3437 11-year-old adolescents from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study. Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms were constructed using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) from age 3 months to 11 years. We identified five trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms: “low” “moderate low”, “increasing”, “decreasing”, and “chronic high”. The following adolescent outcomes were identified via self-report questionnaire and analyzed as binary outcome –yes/no: involvement in fights and alcohol use at age 11. We used logistic regression models to examine the effects of trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms on offspring’s risk behavior adjusting for potential confounding variable. Results Alcohol use and/or abuse as well as involvement in fights during adolescence, were not significantly associated with any specific trajectory of maternal depressive symptoms neither in the crude nor in the adjusted analyses. Conclusion Alcohol use and involvement in fights at age 11 were not associated with any specific trajectory of maternal depression.

scholarly journals Associations between maternal depressive symptoms, children’s behavioral problems and perceptions regarding family interactions

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Mazzer RODRIGUES-PALUCCI ◽  
Fernanda Aguiar PIZETA ◽  
Sonia Regina LOUREIRO
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Family Interactions ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
School Age ◽  
The Family ◽  
Mothers And Children ◽  
Patient Health

Abstract The aim of this study was to verify possible associations between maternal depressive symptoms, children’s behavioral problems and perceptions regarding the family interactions, considering the reports of mothers and children. A total of 60 mothers and their school-age children were divided into two equal groups, according to the presence or absence of maternal depression indicators, and evaluated using the following instruments: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and scales of family interaction (Escalas de Qualidade nas Interações Familiares). The results indicate that maternal depressive symptoms were associated with children’s behavioral problems and with family interactions reported by mothers and children. Maternal depression and positive family interactions reported by the mothers predicted behavioral problems in children. Positive family interactions reported by the mothers also mediated the association between maternal depression and children’s behavioral problems, highlighting the relevance of interventions with mothers with depression indicators that have school-age children.

scholarly journals Family life stress, maternal depression and child behavioral health in industrialized Italian cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Bansal ◽  
S Renzetti ◽  
N Xhani ◽  
G Cagna ◽  
M Conversano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Internalizing Problems ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Italian Version ◽  
Depressed Mothers

Abstract Although family life stress adversely impacts child health, few tools measure its relationship to child outcomes in the setting of maternal variables. This study validates the Italian version of Crisis in Family Systems-Revised (CRISYS-R) and characterizes relationships between family life stress, maternal depression and child behavior in two Italian cities. This cross-sectional study was nested in current research on health impacts of neurotoxic environmental exposures in children. 101 mother-child pairs (child age=9.91±2.17yrs; 53% female) and children's teachers were enrolled in Taranto (south Italy) and Brescia (north Italy). Mothers performed the Italian CRISYS-R and PHQ9; teachers completed Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18). Spearman's rank correlation coefficients showed associations of family CRISYS-R, maternal PHQ9 and child CBCL/6-18. Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test compared groups of continuous variables. Mothers with depressive symptoms (PHQ9≥5) reported higher ongoing stress and proportion of negative stressors on CRISYS-R than non-depressed mothers (p < 0.05). Children of depressed mothers performed worse in all CBCL/6-18 domains: Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems and Total Problems (p < 0.01). Specifically, children of depressed mothers scored higher on subscales of Anxious-Depressed (p < 0.05), Withdrawn-Depressed (p < 0.01), Rule-Breaking (p < 0.01) and Aggressive Behavior (p < 0.05). Maternal depressive symptoms correlated with ongoing stress (rs = 0.27; p < 0.01), child Internalizing Problems (rs = 0.34; p < 0.001), Externalizing Problems (rs = 0.28; p < 0.01) and Total Problems (rs = 0.35; p < 0.001). This study describes links among maternal depression, family life stress, and child behavioral health. It is first to validate Italian CRISYS-R and to explore these factors conjointly in Italian contexts with known neurotoxic exposures. Findings support considering maternal depression and family life stress in child behavioral and environmental health research and policy. Key messages Family life stress, maternal depressive symptoms, and preadolescent behavioral health were highly interrelated in two industrialized Italian cities. The Italian version of CRISYS-R is a useful instrument for assessing and understanding family life stress, a crucial yet under-explored contributor to child behavioral health outcomes.

Relationship of Family Life Events, Maternal Depression, and Child-Rearing Problems

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 773-776
Author(s):  
D. M. Fergusson ◽  
L. J. Horwood ◽  
F. T. Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
Relationship Of

The relationship between maternal reports of child-rearing problems, family life events, and maternal depressive symptoms was studied in a birth cohort of children in New Zealand. Rates of child-rearing problems showed a steady increase with both increasing levels of family life events and maternal depressive symptoms. Log-linear modeling of the results suggested that the apparent correlation between family life events and reports of child-rearing problems was mediated by the effects of maternal depression so that women subject to large numbers of adverse life events suffered increased rates of depression and in turn reported higher rates of problem behavior in their children. There was no significant correlation between family life events and reports of child-rearing problems when the effects of maternal depressive symptoms were taken into account. The findings tend to suggest that the previously reported association between family life events and child-rearing problems arises because life events provoke depressive symptoms in women and in turn this alters the way in which they perceive or evaluate their children's behavior.

The course of maternal depressive symptoms and maternal sensitivity as predictors of attachment security at 36 months

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSAN B. CAMPBELL ◽  
CELIA A. BROWNELL ◽  
ANNE HUNGERFORD ◽  
SUSAN J. SPIEKER ◽  
ROLI MOHAN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Maternal Depressive Symptoms
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