title: Course and Severity of Maternal Depression: Associations with Family Functioning and Child Adjustment.
abstract: Number of lifetime episodes, duration of current episode, and severity of maternal depression were investigated in relation to family functioning and child adjustment. Participants were the 151 mother-child pairs in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) child multi-site study. Mothers were diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder; children (80 males and 71 females) ranged in age from 7 to 17 years. Measures of child adjustment included psychiatric diagnoses, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and functional impairment. Measures of family functioning included family cohesion, expressiveness, conflict, organization, and household control; parenting measures assessed maternal acceptance and psychological control. Children of mothers with longer current depressive episodes were more likely to have internalizing and externalizing symptoms, with this association being moderated by child gender. Mothers with more lifetime depressive episodes were less likely to use appropriate control in their homes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section, 4250 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia Ewell
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section, 4250 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Myrna M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Weissman
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pilowsky
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Priya J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Wickramaratne
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: A John
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Carroll W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Malloy
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cerda
authors.affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kornstein
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Alpert
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Wisniewski
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Madhukar H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Trivedi
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fava
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section, 4250 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA, kingca@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: King
keywords: Child adjustment; Family functioning; Gender; Maternal depression