Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the independent and joint effects of child gender and informant (mother-report vs. child self-report) on children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms in an at-risk sample of children of mothers with a history of depression. Data were obtained from mothers with a history of major depressive disorder (N = 149) and their 9- to 15-year-old children (74 males, 75 females) to assess children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Little evidence was found that maternal depression amplified the typical gender differences in the prevalence of depressive symptoms and behavioral problems. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that maternal depression may equalize the rates of symptoms in boys and girls. There was also some evidence that maternal depression may reverse typical patterns of gender differences in depressive symptoms; i.e., using normative T scores to account for expected rates of problems, boys reported more symptoms than girls. Mothers and children reported significantly different levels of problems depending on child gender. Future research should investigate the processes of risk that may lead to changes in the normative patterns of gender differences in the context of maternal depression.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (2006). As others see us: Clinical and research implications of cross informant correlations for psychopathology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 94–98.
Achenbach, T. M. (2011). Commentary: Definitely more than measurement error: But how should we understand and deal with informant discrepancies? Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 40, 80–86.
Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213–232.
Achenbach, T. M. & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Afifi, T. O., Cox, B. J., & Enns, M. W. (2009). Mental health profiles among married, never-married, and separated/divorced mothers in a nationally representative sample. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41, 122–129.
Carter, A. S., Garrity-Rokous, F. E., Chazan-Cohen, R., Little, C., & Briggs-Gowan, M. J. (2001). Maternal depression and comorbidity: Predicting early parenting, attachment security, and toddler social-emotional problems and competencies. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 18–26.
Crawford, T. N., Cohen, P., Midlarsky, E., & Brook, J. S. (2001). Internalizing symptoms in adolescents: Gender differences in vulnerability to parental distress and discord. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11, 95–118.
Davies, P. T., & Windle, M. (1997). Gender-specific pathways between maternal depressive symptoms, family discord, and adolescent adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 33, 657–668.
Eberhart, N. K., Shih, J. H., Hammen, C. L., & Brennan, P. A. (2006). Understanding the sex difference in vulnerability to adolescent depression: An examination of child and parent characteristics. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 495–508.
England, M. J., & Sim, L. J. (Eds.). (2009). Depression in parents, parenting, and children: Opportunities to improve identification, treatment, and prevention. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Essex, M. J., Klein, M. H., Eunsuk, C., & Kraemer, H. C. (2003). Exposure to maternal depression and marital conflict: Gender differences in children’s later mental health symptoms. Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 728–737.
Foster, C. E., Webster, M. C., Weissman, M. M., Pilowsky, D. J., Wickramaratne, P. J., Rush, J. A., et al. (2008). Course and severity of maternal depression: Association with family functioning and child adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 906–916.
Garber, J., & Downs, L. E. (2011). Prevention of depression in youth: Sex differences in effects. In T. J. Strauman, P. R. Costanza, & J. Garber (Eds.), Depression in adolescent girls: Science and prevention (pp. 193–234). New York: Guilford Press.
Gartstein, M. A., Bridgett, D. J., Dishion, T. J., & Kaufman, N. K. (2009). Depressed mood and maternal report of child behavior problems: Another look at the depression-distortion hypothesis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 149–160.
Hammen, C., & Brennan, P. A. (2001). Depressed adolescents of depressed and nondepressed mothers: Tests of an interpersonal impairment hypothesis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 284–295.
Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. E. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year-longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 128–140.
Jacob, T., & Johnson, S. L. (1997). Parent-child interaction among depressed fathers and mothers: Impact on child functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 11, 391–409.
Landman-Peeters, K. M. C., Ormel, J., Van Sonderen, E. L. P., Den Boer, J. A., Minderaa, R. B., & Hartman, C. A. (2008). Risk of emotional disorder in offspring of depressed parents: Gender differences in the effect of a second emotionally affected parent. Depression and Anxiety, 25, 653–660.
Loeber, R., Burke, J. D., Lahey, B. B., Winters, A., & Zera, M. (2000). Oppositional defiant and conduct disorder: A review of the past 10 years, part I. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1468–1484.
Nomura, Y., Warner, V., & Wickramaratne, P. (2001). Parents concordant for major depressive disorder and the effect of psychopathology in offspring. Psychological Medicine, 31, 1211–1222.
Orvaschel, H., Walsh-Allis, G., & Ye, W. (1988). Psychopathology in children of parents with recurrent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 17–28.
Pawlby, S., Hay, D. F., Sharp, D., Waters, C. S., & O’Keane, V. (2009). Antenatal depression predicts depression in adolescent offspring: Prospective longitudinal community-based study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 113, 236–243.
Rescorla, L., Achenbach, T., Ivanova, M. Y., Levent, D., Almqvist, F., Bilenberg, N., et al. (2007a). Behavioral and emotional problems reported by parents of children ages 6 to 16 in 31 societies. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 15, 130–142.
Rescorla, L., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Dumenci, L., Almqvist, F., Bilenberg, N., et al. (2007b). Epidemiological comparisons of problems and positive qualities reported by adolescents in 24 countries. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 351–358.
Sheeber, L., Davis, B., & Hops, H. (2002). Gender-specific vulnerability to depression in children of depressed mothers. In S. H. Goodman & I. H. Gotlib (Eds.), Children of depressed parents: Mechanisms of risk and implications for treatment (pp. 253–274). Washington, DC: APA.
Weissman, M. M., Warner, V., Wickramaratne, P., Moreau, D., & Olfson, M. (1997). Offspring of depressed parents: 10 years later. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 932–940.
Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Nomura, Y., Warter, V., Pilowsky, D., & Verdeli, H. (2006). Offspring of depressed parents: 20 years later. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1001–1008.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Shiftcliff, E. A., & Marceau, K. (2008). Disorders of childhood and adolescence: Gender and psychopathology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 275–303.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by grants R01MH069940 and R01MH069928 from the National Institute of Mental Health and by a gift from Patricia and Rodes Hart and from Heinz and Rowena Ansbacher.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Watson, K.H., Potts, J., Hardcastle, E. et al. Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Sons and Daughters of Mothers with a History of Depression. J Child Fam Stud 21, 657–666 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9518-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9518-4