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
. 2024 Feb;36(1):135-143.
doi: 10.1017/S0954579422001031. Epub 2022 Nov 15.

Developmental trajectories of internalizing distress among ethnic minoritized mothers following childbirth: Associations with early child psychological adjustment

Affiliations

Developmental trajectories of internalizing distress among ethnic minoritized mothers following childbirth: Associations with early child psychological adjustment

Alisha C Osornio et al. Dev Psychopathol. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

A substantial body of work has established that mothers' internalizing distress can negatively affect children's socioemotional development. Yet few studies have examined how distinct patterns of mothers' distress over time differentially impact child behaviors across early childhood. To address this gap, the current study explored developmental trajectories of mothers' internalizing distress and examined the associations of these patterns with child adjustment outcomes. Mexican immigrant, Dominican immigrant, and African American mothers (N = 272) were annually assessed for internalizing distress over the first 6 years following childbirth. Children's psychological adjustment (internalizing, externalizing, and hyperactivity behaviors) was measured at the last yearly assessment in first grade. A growth mixture model revealed two distinct classes of distress where mothers were classified as having low stable distress (82.4%) or moderate distress that began as stable then declined when their children were 64 months old (17.6%). Children of mothers in the moderate, late decline class showed greater internalizing, externalizing, and hyperactivity behaviors in the first grade compared to children of mothers in the low stable class. Findings highlight the necessity of supporting the mental health of ethnic minoritized mothers following childbirth and further expand our knowledge of family psychopathology to promote healthy psychological adjustment in children.

Keywords: child adjustment; externalizing behaviors; hyperactivity; internalizing behaviors; maternal distress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest. None.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Path diagrams of the fitted (A) growth mixture model and (B) between-class model. Both panels were estimated simultaneously. The random intercept of internalizing distress scores across time points (i.e., 6 months to 1st grade) is taken to create specific latent profiles or classes (I) in Path Diagram A. Demographic covariates (i.e., maternal age, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and cohabitational status) and mother’s distress class (C) are treated as predictors to child adjustment outcomes (i.e., internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and hyperactivity) in Path Diagram B. Demographic covariates were also treated as predictors of mother’s internalizing distress class (C).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mothers’ internalizing distress trajectories for moderate, late decline and low stable classes across the six-year timeframe.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Child adjustment outcomes (i.e., internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and hyperactivity) for mothers within the moderate, late decline and low stable classes of internalizing distress. Children whose mothers were in the moderate, late decline class had more problematic adjustment outcomes compared to children whose mothers were in the low stable class. Each difference was statistically significant within outcome type (p = 0.014, p = 0.032, p = 0.027 from left to right).

Similar articles

References

    1. Abrams LS, & Curran L (2011). Maternal identity negotiations among low-income women with symptoms of postpartum depression. Qualitative Health Research, 21(3), 373–385. 10.1177/1049732310385123 - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Association.
    1. Anokye R, Acheampong E, Budu-Ainooson A, Obeng EI, & Akwasi AG (2018). Prevalence of postpartum depression and interventions utilized for its management. Annals of General Psychiatry, 17(18), 1–8. 10.1186/s12991-018-0188-0 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beeber LS, Schwartz TA, Martinez MI, Holditch DD, Bledsoe SE, Canuso R, & Lewis VS (2014). Depressive symptoms and compromised parenting in low-income mothers of infants and toddlers: Distal and proximal risks. Research in Nursing and Health, 37(4), 276–291. 10.1002/nur.21604 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breslau J, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Kendler KS, Su M, William D, & Kessler RC (2006). Specifying race-ethnic differences in risk for psychiatric disorder in a USA national sample. Psychological Medicine, 36(1), 57–68. 10.1017/S0033291705006161 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts

LinkOut - more resources