title: Maternal psychological absence and toddlers' social-emotional development: interpretations from the perspective of boundary ambiguity theory.
abstract: The current study tests a novel latent construct reflecting psychological absence and examines its relations with maternal depression, mother-toddler interactions, and toddlers' social-emotional outcomes in a low-income sample (N = 2,632). Structural equation modeling confirmed a psychological absence construct and revealed that psychological absence, measured at the child's 36-month birthday-related assessment, is a significant predictor of children's social-emotional development at 36 months, mediated by mother-child interaction. Results are interpreted within a boundary ambiguity framework.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. ebocknek@med.umich.edu
authors.forename: Erika L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Bocknek
authors.forename: Holly E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Brophy-Herb
authors.forename: Hiram
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burns-Jager
authors.forename: Marsha T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Carolan
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004644:Emotions; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires