Mediators of the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing and disruptive behavior disorders

Abstract

Drawing on a normative sample of 224 youth and their biological mothers, this study tested 4 family variables as potential mediators of the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms in early childhood and child psychological outcomes in preadolescence. The mediators examined included mother-child communication, the quality of the mother-child relationship, maternal social support, and stressful life events in the family. The most parsimonious structural equation model suggested that having a more problematic mother-child relationship mediated disruptive behavior-disordered outcomes for youths, whereas less maternal social support mediated the development of internalizing disorders. Gender and race were tested as moderators, but significant model differences did not emerge between boys and girls or between African American and Caucasian youths.

Figure 1

Final mediational model testing child outcomes as a function of maternal depressive symptoms. Coefficients are standardized path coefficients, all of which are significant at p < .05. Curved lines with double-headed arrows represent covariances between latent variables. Dashed lines represent indicators of latent variables. The person completing the measure is depicted by M = Mother, C = Child, I = Interviewer, CES-D = Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression; PML = People in My Life; PCC = Parent–Child Communication.