Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Sep;51(3):274-90.
doi: 10.1177/0022146510377757.

Mothers' depression and educational attainment and their children's academic trajectories

Jennifer March Augustine  1 , Robert Crosnoe
Affiliations

Mothers' depression and educational attainment and their children's academic trajectories

Jennifer March Augustine et al. J Health Soc Behav. 2010 Sep.

Abstract

In this study, we take a dynamic approach to studying the connections among mothers' education, their depression, and their children's academic trajectories during elementary school. Applying latent growth curve modeling to longitudinal data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,012), we find that maternal depression does not mediate the association between mothers' education and children's achievement. Instead, maternal education moderates the association between maternal depression and children's achievement. Specifically, maternal depression only predicted lower achievement for children of women who did not pursue higher education. These results highlight the role of mothers' mental health in the intergenerational linkage between mothers' and children's educational experiences.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Alexander Karl, Entwisle Doris. Achievement in the First Two Years of School: Patterns and Processes. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press; 1988. - PubMed
    1. Alexander Karl, Entwisle Doris, Bedinger Samuel. When Expectations Work: Race and Socio-economic Differences in School Performance. Social Psychology Quarterly. 1994;57:283–99.
    1. Alexander Karl L, Entwisle Doris R, Olson Linda S. Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap. American Sociological Review. 2007;72:167–80.
    1. Allison Paul. Missing Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 2001.
    1. Amato Paul R, Fowler Frieda. Parenting Practices, Child Adjustment, and Family Diversity. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2002;64:703–16.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources