Children's responses to low parental mood. I: Balancing between active empathy, overinvolvement, indifference, and avoidance.
OBJECTIVE
The aims were to study children's behavioral and emotional responses to parental low mood, and the associations of these responses with parental depressive symptoms and the children's own mental distress.


METHODS
The community sample consists of 990 twelve-year-old Finnish children and their mothers (843) and fathers (573). The children's responses were elicited by inquiring about their behaviors and feelings when their mothers and their fathers were feeling down.


RESULTS
Cluster analysis identified four response patterns: the Active Empathy, Emotional Overinvolvement, Indifference and Avoidance. The Emotional Overinvolvement and the Avoidance groups reported more depressive and externalizing symptoms than the other two groups. The patterns did not vary on the basis of variation in the level of parental depressive symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Children are sensitive members of their families and feel for their parents. Their responses can reflect both adaptive and nonadaptive patterns.
Solantaus-Simula
Tytti
T
National Research and Development Centre and Helsinki University Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Finland. tytti.solantaus@stakes.fi
Punamäki
Raija-Leena
RL
Beardslee
William R
WR
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012918:Social Alienation