title: Maternal depression, adult attachment, and children's emotional distress.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our goal was to evaluate the impact of depressed mothers' marital intimacy and attachment security in romantic relationships on children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-six clinically depressed mothers rated attachment security, marital intimacy, and symptoms shown by their children aged 8 to 12.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal avoidance of closeness predicted increases in children's internalizing symptoms over a 6-month period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Avoidance of closeness in depressed mothers may be implicated in the development of internalizing symptoms in their children, possibly because individuals who are avoidant of closeness are poor caregivers.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. whiff@uottawa.ca
authors.forename: Valerie E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Whiffen
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kallos-Lilly
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D004493:Education; D004644:Emotions; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012650:Self Disclosure; D018454:Spouses; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors