When mothers have serious mental health problems: parenting as a proximal mediator.
Maternal mental health (MMH) problems are associated with lack of confidence in one's parenting, overly lax or too harsh discipline, and child academic underperformance. We asked if parenting mediates the effect of MMH problems on academic outcomes even among mothers with serious mental illness (n=164). Structural equation analyses show a significant association between MMH problems and permissive (lack of parenting confidence, lack of follow through) parenting and verbal hostility as well as worse academic outcomes (school recorded grades, teacher reported behaviour). Permissive parenting completely mediated the direct effect of MMH on academic outcomes. Further analyses showed that the mediation effect was attributed to a single component of permissive parenting-lack of parenting confidence.
Oyserman
Daphna
D
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Ave., Room 5240, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. daphna.oyserman@umich.edu
Bybee
Deborah
D
Mowbray
Carol
C
Hart-Johnson
Tamera
T
D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology