PARENTAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, CHILD DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND PARENTING: RECIPROCAL RELATIONS FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH ADOLESCENCE

Abstract

Theories on the interactional nature of families suggest that parents and children each impact one another’s moods and behaviors. However, little work has examined reciprocal relations among parental depression, parenting, and child depression across development. We conducted cross-lagged panel models to examine reciprocal relations between parental depression, negative parenting, and child depression from early childhood through adolescence in a community sample of 609 youth. At ages 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 years old, mothers and fathers completed self-report measures about their own depression and parenting. Child depression was assessed with a developmentally appropriate semi-structured clinical interview at all timepoints. Results demonstrated reciprocal, indirect pathways between maternal and child depression: maternal depression at age 3 led to child depression at age 15 and child depression at age 3 led to greater maternal depression at age 15 via a number of indirect pathways. Moreover, while child depression at age 3 led to greater maternal and paternal negative parenting from ages 3 to 15, this effect was not reciprocal. Pathways between paternal and child depression were not observed. Our findings highlight the importance of examining reciprocal pathways to identify mechanisms in the development of parent and youth depression across childhood.