title: Early maternal depressive symptom trajectories: Associations with 7-year maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior.
abstract: This study examines potential mechanisms linking maternal depressive symptoms over 2 years postpartum with child behavior problems at school-age in a sample of adolescent mothers and their first-born child. Potential mechanisms include: mother-reported caregiving engagement at 6 months; observed parental nurturance and control, and child competence and affect at 24 months; and mother-reported resilience at 7 years based on achievement of adult developmental tasks. One hundred eighteen low-income African American adolescent mothers were recruited at delivery and followed through child age 7 years. Maternal depressive symptom trajectories over 24 months were estimated (low, medium, and high) based on mother-reported depressive symptoms. Direct and indirect associations between depressive symptom trajectories with 7-year maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems were examined. The high maternal depressive symptom trajectory was associated with 7-year maternal depressive symptoms (b = 5.52, SE = 1.65, p < .01) and child internalizing problems (b = 7.60, SE = 3.12, p = .02) and externalizing problems (b = 6.23, SE = 3.22, p = .05). Caregiving engagement among high depressive symptom trajectory mothers was significantly associated with observed child affect (b = -0.21, SE = 0.11, p = 0.05). Parental nurturance in toddlerhood mediated the association between high maternal depressive symptom trajectory and child internalizing problems at 7 years (indirect effect b = 2.33, 95% CI: 0.32-5.88). Findings suggest that family based interventions to promote parenting and adolescent resiliency strengthening may be beneficial in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Stacy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buckingham-Howes
authors.affiliation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Oberlander
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Maureen M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult