Children's responses to low parental mood. II: Associations with family perceptions of parenting styles and child distress.
OBJECTIVE
In an earlier article (part 1) the authors identified four patterns of children's responses to parental low mood: Active Empathy, Emotional Overinvolvement, Indifference, and Avoidance. They then hypothesized that these response patterns were related to parenting styles and to discrepancies in family members' perceptions of parenting and child mental distress.


METHODS
A normal population sample of 990 twelve-year-old Finnish children and their mothers (843) and fathers (573) was used. Within-family multivariate analyses conducted in mother-father-child triads (470) were used to examine whether quality of parenting varied according to children's responses and whether parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and child distress were different.


RESULTS
Children in the Active Empathy and Indifference groups experienced more positive parenting than those in the other two groups. Discrepancies in family members' perceptions of child distress and mothering and fathering were especially characteristic of the Emotional Overinvolvement group. Typical for the Avoidance group was a within-family agreement on poor parenting and severe child distress.


CONCLUSIONS
Children's response patterns as regards parental low mood are related to family dynamics. The study suggests that discrepancies in parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and child distress can be meaningful in understanding family interactions and child development and well-being.
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
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception