Maternal depressive symptomatology and child maladjustment: A comparison of three process models

Abstract

This study compared three models to investigate the relation between maternal depressive symptomatology and child maladjustment in a community sample of 96 motherchild dyads. The models agree that symptomatic mothers report higher levels of child maladjustment and behave in a more aversive and controlling manner toward their children than asymptomatic mothers, but make different predictions about the manner in which children behave toward symptomatic mothers. Model 1 asserts that children generally display lower levels of compliance, and higher levels of aversiveness, model 2 that they do not differ, in their behavior when compared to children of asymptomatic mothers, and model 3 that they generally display higher levels of compliance, and lower levels of aversiveness. Home observation data generally supported model 2, but showed that socioeconomic disadvantage played a major role in the association between maternal depressive symptomatology and child maladjustment. The findings call for an expanded model that includes disadvantage as a correlate of both maternal depressive symptoms and, to a lesser extent, child maladjustment. Implications for intervention are briefly discussed.