Children Of Nondepressed Mothers Research Articles

POST-PARTUM PSYCHOSIS

Postpartum depression can predispose to chronic or recurrent depression, which may affect the mother-infant relationship and child growth and development. Children of mothers with postpartum depression have greater cognitive, behavioural, and interpersonal problems compared with the children of non-depressed mothers. A meta-analysis in developing countries showed that the children of mothers with postpartum depression are at greater risk of being underweight and stunted. Moreover, mothers who are depressed are more likely not to breastfeed their babies and not seek health care appropriately.

Maternal depression is associated with less dietary diversity among rural Nepali children.

Maternal depression has been associated with adverse child growth and development; less is known about its relation to children's diet. In a cross‐sectional study embedded at endline of a longitudinal community development intervention, mothers of 629 children (age 23–66 months) in rural Nepal responded to household and children's diet questionnaires and were screened for depression. Child anthropometry and development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) were assessed. Regression models examined children's diet, growth and development, adjusting for household, child and maternal characteristics. The prevalence of maternal depression was 21%. Maternal depression was associated with 11% lower likelihood that the child consumed one additional food group [Poisson regression, adjusted relative risk (aRR) 0.89, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI 0.81, 0.99), p = 0.024] and 13% lower likelihood that the child consumed one additional animal source food (ASF) [aRR 0.87, (95% CI 0.76, 1.01), p = 0.061] compared with children of nondepressed mothers. However, maternal depression was not associated with either child anthropometry or development: these outcomes were strongly associated with better home child‐rearing quality. Stunting also related to child age and intervention group; child development related to mother's education and household wealth. This study suggests a correlation between maternal depression and child dietary diversity. This association could be due to unmeasured confounders, and therefore, further research is warranted. Understanding the relationship of depression to child outcomes—and the role of other potentially compensatory household factors—could help address some of the earliest, modifiable influences in a child's life and contribute to innovative approaches to improve child well‐being.

Language development in children of clinically depressed mothers in remission: Early experience effects.

We compared language comprehension and production across the second year of life in children of clinically depressed mothers who later remitted with children of nondepressed mothers. Altogether, 157 mother-child dyads participated: 46 with mothers diagnosed at infant age 5 months as having major, minor, or other depressive disorders who fully remitted by 15 and 24 months and 111 with nondepressed mothers. The majority of mothers (mean [M] age = 32.8 years) were married, European American, and college educated. The groups did not differ on most sociodemographic indices, and analyses controlled for residual group differences in maternal education and child birth order. Children of early clinically depressed mothers understood fewer words at 15 months (by maternal report on the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory [MCDI]) and 24 months (by experimenter-administered Reynell Developmental Language Scales [RDLS]) than children of nondepressed mothers. Children of nondepressed mothers increased in language comprehension from 15 to 24 months, whereas children of early clinically depressed mothers did not. Aggregating over 15 and 24 months, nondepressed mothers reported that their children expressed more words than clinically depressed mothers reported their children expressed; experimenter assessment revealed no difference between the two groups. Maternal clinical depression in the first 5 months is related to reduced language comprehension and production during the second year of life even in children whose mothers remit, indicating an early experience effect of maternal clinical depression in muting child language development. Future research should identify the mechanisms by which this early experience effect occurs to inform targeted early preventative interventions for at-risk children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Paternal influences from early pregnancy to postpartum years on child development: A longitudinal study

IntroductionAlthough an array of maternal and child-centered risks have been researched, considerably less is known about the effects of paternal influences on child's birth outcomes and early development. This longitudinal study thus examined the effects of paternal influences (parental stress, partner support, childcare and nursing, and father–child interaction) from early pregnancy to 2 years postpartum on pregnancy outcomes and toddlerhood development, with a simultaneous consideration of maternal depression. MethodsPregnant women together with their partners were recruited from 2011 to 2016 at five selected hospitals in Taipei, Taiwan. In total, 440 families completed seven assessments from early pregnancy to 2 years postpartum. Self-reported data were analyzed using logistic regression and generalized estimating equation models. ResultsThe increment in parental stress from early to late pregnancy was independently and significantly associated with higher risks of low birthweight (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 5.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0–27.7). In the postpartum years, paternal poorer childcare and nursing (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.0–3.0) and father–child interaction (aOR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.2–2.9) were significantly associated with increased risks of child's suspected developmental delay up to 2 years postpartum, particularly among children of nondepressed mothers’ children. LimitationsSelecting both parents in metropolitan areas with higher socioeconomic status may compromise the generalizability of the study. ConclusionsWe suggested the essential role of longitudinal paternal influences from early pregnancy on birth outcomes and child's development during infancy and toddlerhood. Maternal depression remains critical to concern.

The effect of content and tone of maternal evaluative feedback on self-cognitions and affect in young children

Feedback that young children receive from others can affect their emotions and emerging self-views. The current experiment tested the effect of negative content (criticism) and negative tone (hostile) of the feedback on children’s affect, self-evaluations, and attributions. We also explored whether maternal history of depression and children’s temperament moderated these relations. Participants were 152 mothers and children (48% girls) aged 4 and 5 years (M = 61.6 months, SD = 6.83). The task involved three scenarios enacted by dolls; a child doll made something (e.g., picture, house, numbers) that had a mistake (e.g., no windows on the house) and proudly showed it to the mother doll, who then gave feedback (standardized, audio recorded) to the child. Children were randomized to one of four maternal feedback conditions: negative or neutral content in either a negative or neutral tone. Negative content (criticism) produced significantly more negative affect and lower self-evaluations than neutral content. When the tone of the feedback was hostile, children of mothers who had been depressed during the children’s lifetimes were significantly more likely to make internal attributions for mistakes than children of nondepressed mothers. In addition, among children with low temperamental negative affectivity, in the presence of negative tone, negative content significantly predicted more internal attributions for the errors. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding the role of evaluative feedback in children’s emerging social cognitions and affect.

Empathic Responses to Mother's Emotions Predict Internalizing Problems in Children of Depressed Mothers.

Recent theories posit that empathy, typically an adaptive characteristic, may be associated with internalizing problems when children are chronically exposed to mother's depression. We tested this postulation in a sample of children (N=82, M age=5years). Children witnessed their mothers express sadness, anger, and happiness during a simulated phone conversation, and researchers rated children's negative affective empathy, positive affective empathy, and information-seeking (cognitive empathy) in response to their mother's emotions. The chronicity of mother's depression during the child's lifetime moderated associations between children's empathy and internalizing problems. As predicted, all three empathy measures were related to greater mother-rated internalizing problems in children of chronically (i.e., 2-3years) depressed mothers. Greater positive empathy was related to lower internalizing problems in children of nondepressed mothers. Positive empathy may contribute to adaptive processes when mothers are not depressed, and positive, negative, and cognitive empathy may contribute to maladaptive processes when mothers are chronically depressed.

Eye tracking indices of attentional bias in children of depressed mothers: Polygenic influences help to clarify previous mixed findings.

Information-processing biases may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of depression. There is growing evidence that children of depressed mothers exhibit attentional biases for sad faces. However, findings are mixed as to whether this bias reflects preferential attention toward, versus attentional avoidance of, sad faces, suggesting the presence of unmeasured moderators. To address these mixed findings, we focused on the potential moderating role of genes associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity. Participants included children (8-14 years old) of mothers with (n = 81) and without (n = 81) a history of depression. Eye movements were recorded while children passively viewed arrays of angry, happy, sad, and neutral faces. DNA was obtained from buccal cells. Children of depressed mothers exhibited more sustained attention to sad faces than did children of nondepressed mothers. However, it is important that this relation was moderated by children's genotype. Specifically, children of depressed mothers who carried reactive genotypes across the corticotropin-releasing hormone type 1 receptor (CHRH1) TAT haplotype and FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) rs1360780 (but not the solute carrier family C6 member 4 [SLC6A4] of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region [5-HTTLPR]) exhibited less sustained attention to sad faces and more sustained attention to happy faces. These findings highlight the role played by specific genetic influences and suggest that previous mixed findings may have been due to genetic heterogeneity across the samples.

Pupillary reactivity to emotional stimuli in children of depressed and anxious mothers.

The primary aim of this study was to examine differences in physiological reactivity (measured via pupillometry) to emotional stimuli between children of depressed versus nondepressed mothers. A second goal was to examine differences in pupil dilation to emotional stimuli between children of anxious versus nonanxious mothers. Participants included 117 mother-child pairs drawn from the community. Children were between the ages of 8 and 14. Pupil dilation was assessed using an eye-tracker while participants viewed angry, happy, or sad faces. Children of mothers with a history of major depression (MDD) exhibited increased pupil dilation to sad, but not happy or angry, faces compared with children of nondepressed mothers. Second, we found that children of anxious mothers exhibited increased pupil dilation to angry, but not happy or sad, faces compared to youth of nonanxious mothers. The current findings add to the growing body of research suggesting that differences in physiological reactivity to depression- and anxiety-relevant cues may represent an important mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of MDD and anxiety.

Association of Antepartum and Postpartum Depression in Ghanaian and Ivorian Women With Febrile Illness in Their Offspring: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study

In low-income countries, perinatal depression is common, but longitudinal data on its influence on child health are rare. We examined the association between maternal depression and febrile illness in children. There were 654 mother/child dyads in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire that were enrolled in a prospective birth cohort in 2010-2011 and underwent 2-years of follow up. Mothers were examined for depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module antepartum and 3 and 12 months postpartum. The hazard of febrile illness in children of depressed and nondepressed mothers was estimated using a recurrent event Cox proportional hazards model. The prevalences of antepartum depression in mothers from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana were 28.3% and 26.3%, respectively. The prevalences of depression at 3 and 12 months postpartum were 11.8% and 16.1% (Côte d'Ivoire) and 8.9% and 7.2% (Ghana). The crude and adjusted (for country and socioeconomic status) hazard ratios of febrile illness in children of depressed mothers compared with those in children of nondepressed mothers were 1.57 (95% confidence interval: 1.20, 2.07) and 1.32 (95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.74) respectively. Perinatal depression was frequent and associated with febrile illness in the offspring. Our results showed that a high prevalence of depression in sub-Saharan Africa may pose a serious public health threat to women and their offspring.

Genetic Variation in Depressed Mothers Tied to Psychiatric Illnesss in Children

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical and Research NewsFull AccessGenetic Variation in Depressed Mothers Tied to Psychiatric Illnesss in ChildrenVabren WattsVabren WattsSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:8 Aug 2013https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2013.8b29AbstractNew data suggest that there is an association between oxytocin receptor variances in mothers with chronic depression and Axis I disorders in their children. There appears to be a strong relationship between oxytocin dysfunction and adverse social outcomes, according to a study published July 12 in AJP in Advance.Ruth Feldman, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at University Bar-Ilan in Israel, and colleagues at National University of Singapore found that variations in the allele of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) may be a cause of long-term psychiatric disorders in children of women who suffer from postpartum and chronic depression. Using the Beck Depression Inventory, the researchers evaluated 46 chronically depressed mothers who reported depressive symptoms two days after giving birth and compared them with 103 mothers reporting no depression. Six years later, children from each group were assessed for psychiatric disorders, social engagement, and empathy.Results showed that 61 percent of children of depressed mothers were diagnosed with Axis I disorders using DSM-IV criteria; they primarily had anxiety, oppositional defiance, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. In addition, the 6-year-olds displayed low levels of social engagement and empathy. Children of nondepressed mothers were four times less likely to develop psychopathologies and were more likely to be socially interactive and empathetic than those who mothers had depression. “These are amazingly high numbers [associated with maternal depression] when there are no other comorbid conditions,” Feldman told Psychiatric News. She explained that all mothers in the study were required to be middle class, physically healthy, over age 21, and in a committed relationship and to have given birth at full term. These requirements were intended to eliminate factors that might contribute to chronic depression in mothers and adverse psychosocial patterns in children. “The study tapped only the effects of maternal depression per se,” she said. Expanding beyond behavioral studies, the researchers investigated the significance of the oxytocin system in the setting of maternal depression. Oxytocin is a neurohormone that plays a key role in mammalian reproduction and is a predictor for major consequences in human social bonding, including intimate relationships and parent-child interaction. Previous studies have linked adverse social outcomes in humans with low oxytocin levels and nucleotide variance among OXTR genes—in particular, the OXTR rs2254298 polymorphism.Individuals possessing a single G variant of the OXTR rs2254298 polymorphism are at greater risk for autism and major depressive disorder, and those possessing two copies, the GG variant, are more likely to have emotional detachment. However, the presence of the A variant is associated with heightened emotional security. AA homozygous trait carriers have been shown to exhibit social synchrony and physical affection because they have higher levels of oxytocin. To assess the impact of oxytocin levels and receptor variations on maternal depression and Axis I disorders in the offspring, Feldman and colleagues analyzed saliva from the mother and child pairs.Data showed that depressed mothers and their children had significantly lower oxytocin levels and a greater incidence for the GG trait when compared with families of nondepressed mothers. Among the depressed mothers, the presence of the GG allele correlated with a 62 percent occurrence of child Axis I disorders, whereas the possession of a single A or AA allele, regardless of depression state, decreased the offsprings’ psychopathologies by at least half.“What’s amazing is that this study is exquisitely sensitive to epigenetic effects,” said Eric Hollander, M.D., director of the Compulsive, Impulsive, and Autism Spectrum Disorder Program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “It’s seems that having the resilience [AA] allele, rather than the pathological [GG] allele, is more important, because the presence of the A allele rescued children of depressed mothers from psychiatric disorders,” he told Psychiatric News. Hollander was one of the first clinicians to show that oxytocin administration can alleviate adverse behaviors in humans in a 2003 study published in Neuropsychopharmacology. As for Feldman, she is confident that her research will contribute to the implementation of “oxytocinergic” therapies for postbirth maternal depression, which affects 15 percent to18 percent of women in industrial societies. She concluded that researchers should search for biomarkers and positive environmental factors that reduce long-term adverse effects of maternal depression to provide affected children a better opportunity to adapt to their social world. ■“Impact of Maternal Depression Across the First 6 Years of Life on the Child's Mental Health, Social Engagement, and Empathy: The Moderating Role of Oxytocin” is posted at http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=1712528. ISSUES NewArchived

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Obesity in Low-Income Urban Families

ObjectiveTo characterize the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and child weight status, obesity-promoting feeding practices, and activity-related behaviors in low-income urban families. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of mothers with 5-year-old children receiving pediatric care at a federally qualified community health center. We used regression analyses to examine the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms (trichotomized: none, mild, moderate to severe) and 1) child weight status; 2) obesity-promoting feeding practices, including mealtime practices and feeding styles; and 3) activity-related behaviors, including sleep time, screen time, and outdoor playtime. ResultsThe sample included 401 mother–child pairs (78.3% response rate), with 23.4% of mothers reporting depressive symptoms (15.7% mild, 7.7% moderate to severe). Mothers with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were more likely to have overweight and obese children than mothers without depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 2.62; 95% confidence interval 1.02–6.70). Children of mildly depressed mothers were more likely to consume sweetened drinks and to eat out at restaurants and were less likely to eat breakfast than children of nondepressed mothers. Mothers with depressive symptoms were less likely to set limits, to use food as a reward, to restrict their child’s intake, and to model healthy eating than nondepressed mothers. Children with depressed mothers had less sleep and outdoor playtime per day than children of nondepressed mothers. ConclusionsMaternal depressive symptoms are associated with child overweight and obese status and with several obesity-promoting practices. These results support the need for maternal depression screening in pediatric obesity prevention programs. Further research should explore how to incorporate needed mental health support.

Maternal depression and the intergenerational transmission of relational impairment.

Previous research has demonstrated that the offspring of depressed mothers are at greater risk for negative psychopathological and psychosocial outcomes than children of nondepressed mothers. This study specifically examines offspring's romantic relationship quality during the transition to adulthood as a function of maternal depression and 3 putative mechanisms for this association: youth depression history, mother-child relationship discord, and maternal romantic relationship difficulties. The study further explores the role of these factors in the risk for depressive symptoms during the transition to adulthood. Hypotheses were examined longitudinally in a community sample of 182 Australian youth who were followed from birth to age 20 and were in committed romantic relationships at age 20 with romantic partners willing to provide data regarding romantic relationship satisfaction. Structural equation modeling analyses found support for a direct effect of maternal depression on youth romantic relationship quality with significant mediation by mother-child relationship discord, as well as an association between mother-child relationship discord and later depressive symptoms that is mediated by youth romantic relationship quality. Findings also lend support for an indirect effect of maternal depression on youth depressive symptoms via mother-child relationship discord and youth romantic relationship quality. This study provides further evidence for the negative psychosocial and psychopathological outcomes of children of depressed mothers and the intergenerational transmission of relational difficulties.

Patterns of depressive parenting: Why they occur and their role in early developmental risk.

This study examined subgroups of depressed mothers who differ on their intrusive and withdrawn behavior. It explored the stability of these differences, why they occur, and their role in children's early developmental risk. With 6- to 24-month data from 1,364 dyads, latent class analysis identified 3 stable patterns of early parenting among mothers consistently above clinical thresholds on depressive symptoms (n = 159): 2 low-functioning patterns (high intrusive, high intrusive/high withdrawn) and 1 high-functioning pattern (low intrusive/low withdrawn). Low-functioning depressed mothers were no more depressed than high-functioning depressed mothers, but lacked personal resources and were in low-support, high-stress contexts. Differences in their children's development over the first 2 years appeared to depend primarily on demographic risk. By 36 months, however, stable differences in depressed mothers' patterns of intrusive and withdrawn parenting-independent of demographic risk-predicted cognitive and language development, the quality of the relationship with the mother (attachment, responsiveness to mothers), and socioemotional competence. Children of high-functioning depressed mothers were not significantly different from children of nondepressed mothers in cognitive and language development and in attachment and responsiveness to the mother, but displayed more behavior problems and less social competence. Findings reveal stable differences in parenting within a sample of depressed mothers, support a stress and coping perspective on why these differences occur, and demonstrate their potential role in determining the risk children of depressed mothers face over the first 3 years.

Neurodevelopment of Children Following Prenatal Exposure to Venlafaxine, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or Untreated Maternal Depression

Effects on child neurodevelopment of neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors used as antidepressants during pregnancy have not been adequately studied. The authors compared the effects of prenatal exposure to venlafaxine (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and maternal depression. A cohort derived from a prospectively collected database included four groups of children born to 1) depressed women who took venlafaxine during pregnancy (N=62), 2) depressed women who took SSRIs during pregnancy (N=62), 3) depressed women who were untreated during pregnancy (N=54), and 4) nondepressed, healthy women (N=62). The children's intelligence and behavior outcomes were evaluated with standardized instruments at one time point between the ages of 3 years and 6 years, 11 months. The children exposed to venlafaxine, SSRIs, and maternal depression during pregnancy had similar full-scale IQs (105, 105, and 108, respectively). The IQs of the venlafaxine and SSRI groups were significantly lower than that of the children of nondepressed mothers (112). The three groups exposed to maternal depression had consistently, but nonsignificantly, higher rates of most problematic behaviors than the children of nondepressed mothers. Severity of maternal depression in pregnancy and at testing predicted child behavior. Maternal IQ and child sex predicted child IQ. Antidepressant dose and duration during pregnancy did not predict any cognitive or behavioral outcome. Factors other than antidepressant exposure during pregnancy strongly predict children's intellect and behavior. Depression during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for postpartum depression. Children of depressed mothers may be at risk of future psychopathology.

Symptoms of Depression Postpartum and 12 years Later-Associations to Child Mental Health at 12 years of Age

Children of depressed mothers have been shown to express behaviour problems to a greater extent than children of non-depressed mothers. The purpose of this study was to examine the persistence of depressive symptoms in mothers and to evaluate the relative importance of symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) and concurrent maternal symptoms of depression, on child behaviour at age 12. A birth cohort of 1,707 children and their mothers was followed from 3 months after birth to 12 years after birth. Self-reported symptoms of depression in mothers were assessed at baseline and 12-year follow-up where 893 mothers (52.3 %) and their children participated. The mothers' reports on the behaviour of their children at age 12 were used. Multivariate analysis was used to assess factors that increased the risk of child behaviour problems. At baseline, 10.4 % scored above the cutoff for symptoms of postpartum depression. At follow up, 18.2 % scored above the cutoff for depressive symptoms. Multivariate analysis showed that ongoing maternal symptoms of depression, as distinct from PPD-symptoms, was the strongest predictor of child behaviour problems at age 12. The gender of the child and socio-demographic factors at baseline were additional factors that affected the risk of behaviour problems in the 12 year old children. Children of mothers who reported symptoms of depression, both postpartum and at follow-up, were at a greater risk of behaviour problems compared to children of women with no depressive symptoms on either occasion. Our findings indicate that recurrent and ongoing maternal depressive symptoms significantly increase the risk of child behaviour problems as reported by mothers, while symptoms of PPD do not seem to result in an increased risk of behaviour problems in 12 year olds. High maternal socio-demographic life stress at childbirth constitutes an important risk factor for later child behaviour problems.

Kindliches Temperament und mütterliche Affektivität

This study examines the question whether early childhood temperaments of children of mothers suffering from postnatal depression differs from children of non-depressed mothers. Children of clinically depressed mothers were assessed with regard to their temperament on two different dimensions and compared to a control group. The level of cortisol concentration in the children's saliva was the first variable. Saliva samples were gathered on three consecutive days to obtain a baseline, and before and after a mother-children interaction, which was interrupted by a still-face phase. As second variable the early childhood temperament was assessed with the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ). After the mother-children interaction the cortisol concentration levels of children of mothers suffering from postnatal depression were significantly lower. In the IBQ-Scales the children of depressed mothers showed significantly higher values on the scales Distress to Limitations and Activity. The significantly lower cortisol concentration in the saliva of children of mothers suffering from postpartum depression could be an indication that these children are already used to the fact that their mothers are not paying attention to them during the still-face phase. Overall, the results give rise to the assumption that postpartum depression does have an adverse impact on the development of affected children and that early intervention would be expedient to prevent the occurrence of pathological behavior characteristics and difficult mother-child relationships.

Developing a Family‐Based Depression Prevention Program in Urban Community Mental Health Clinics: A Qualitative Investigation

Extensive research documents that children of depressed mothers are at a significantly higher risk for developing a variety of socioemotional difficulties than children of nondepressed mothers. Yet, little prevention research has been conducted for this population, and low-income, minority, and urban families are rarely included. To address this deficit, we are developing the Protecting Families Program (PFP), a family-based multicomponent depression prevention program for mothers in treatment at urban community mental health agencies and their school-aged children. To inform intervention development and begin relationship building with the agencies, patient and staff focus groups were conducted in the participating agencies. Eighteen mothers with depression participated, and eight major themes were identified: (1) depression symptoms, (2) generational legacy, (3) parenting difficulties, (4) child problems, (5) social support, (6) stressful life events, (7) therapy and other helpful activities, and (8) desired treatment. In the focus groups with 10 mental health providers, the five major themes identified were parenting difficulties, lack of social support, life stress, current mental health practices, and intervention development. The findings support the multicomponent design of PFP, which focuses on increasing knowledge of depression, enhancing social support, and improving parenting skills. The study helped clarify many of the challenges of conducting research in a community mental health system.

Behavior Problems in Sexually Abused Children of Depressed Versus Nondepressed Mothers

Children's psychological adjustment following stressors, such as sexual abuse, is impacted by environmental variables. One such factor is parental support, which can be hampered when a caregiver suffers from psychopathology. The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal depression would impact the children's adjustment to sexual abuse. It was hypothesized that depressed mothers would report more behavior difficulties for their sexually abused children than nondepressed mothers. Participants were 58 children (and their mothers) who were referred for trauma symptoms related to sexual abuse. Mothers completed the Beck Depression Inventory as a measure of their depression and rated their children's behaviors on the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. The children completed the Children's Depression Inventory and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Results revealed that depressed mothers reported more conduct problems, inattention/immaturity, and psychotic behavior than nondepressed mothers. Differences were not observed for mothers' report of depressive or anxious behaviors across groups. The children of depressed mothers reported increased levels of depression, but not anxiety, when compared to children of nondepressed mothers. Although both groups of mothers reported symptoms to be clinically significant, the children did not endorse their symptoms in clinically significant ranges.

Temperament and behavioral problems among infants in alcoholic families

This study examined the association between paternal alcoholism and 12-month infant temperament and 18-month behavior problems. The role of associated parental psychopathology and maternal drinking in exacerbating risk for maladaptive behavioral outcomes was also examined. Participants were 213 families (102 control families, 94 paternal alcoholic families, and 17 families with alcoholic fathers and heavy drinking mothers) who were assessed when their child was 12 months old and reassessed again when their child was 18 months old. Infants of alcoholics displayed marginally more stubborn/persistent temperaments at 12 months of age, but significantly more internalizing problems at 18 months. Analyses suggested that internalizing problems in the infants of alcoholics could be attributed to the paternal depression concomitant with paternal alcoholism. In addition, an interaction was observed, indicating that paternal alcohol problems predicted 18-month externalizing problems among families with low maternal depression, but not among families with high maternal depression. Children of depressed mothers exhibited uniformly higher externalizing scores, but were not further impacted by paternal alcohol problems. However, children of nondepressed mothers were adversely affected by fathers' drinking as reflected by higher externalizing behavior scores. The results highlight the necessity of addressing the overall contextual risks that occur with paternal alcoholism in studies of the development of children in alcoholic families.

Right frontal EEG asymmetry and lack of empathy in preschool children of depressed mothers.

EEG activity, empathic reactions to emotion-inducing stimuli, and the ability to complete a teaching task were examined in preschool children of depressed and non-depressed mothers. EEG activity from frontal and parietal regions was recorded. Repeated measures MANOVAs indicated that the children of depressed mothers had greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry, a pattern that typically accompanies greater negative affect and showed less empathic responses to a crying infant as well as to their own mothers' simulated distress. Children of depressed mothers were slower in completing the teaching task (involving mutual cooperation with their mother) and they spent more time asking for help than children of non-depressed mothers. Further, the depressed mothers stated their approval less often and spent less time helping their child complete the task.