Communication styles of children of mothers with affective disorders, chronic medical illness, and normal controls: a contextual perspective

Parent-child bonding and family functioning in depressed children and children at high risk and low risk for future depression

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate parent-child bonding and familial functioning in depressed children, children at high risk for depression, and low-risk controls.

METHOD

Diagnoses of children and their relatives were obtained via structured interviews with all available informants. Depressed children (n = 54) received a diagnosis of current major depressive disorder (MDD). The high-risk children (n = 21) had no lifetime diagnoses of mood disorders, but at least one first-degree relative with a lifetime history of depression. The low-risk controls (n = 23) had no lifetime psychiatric disorders and no first-degree relative with a lifetime history of mood disorders. Parent-child bonding was evaluated with the child's report on the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Familial functioning was evaluated with each parent answering the Family Assessment Device (FAD).

RESULTS

Significant differences were found between the MDD and low-risk children on most parameters of the PBI and FAD. The children with MDD reported significantly elevated maternal overprotection, and their fathers scored significantly lower on the FAD scales of Behavioral Control and General Functioning, compared with the high-risk children. Mothers of high-risk children had significantly lower scores on the Roles and Affective Involvement dimensions of the FAD compared with mothers of low-risk children. Current maternal depression had a deleterious effect on the child's perception of maternal protection and paternal care, mother's report on all FAD scales, and father's report on most FAD scales, whether interacting with the child's depression or existing even if the child was not depressed.

CONCLUSION

Maternal depression and its interaction with the child's depression appear to have negative consequences for parent-child bonding and family functioning.

Adolescent responses to depressive parental behaviors in problem-solving interactions: implications for depressive symptoms

The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between child responses to interparental depressive behavior and subsequent child depressive symptomatology. Data were collected on 156 two-parent families. Families completed questionnaire data and participated in problem-solving interactions, which were coded using a microsocial observational system. Three potential child responses to interparental depressive behavior were examined: facilitative, aggressive, and depressive. Results indicated that for female adolescents the displays of facilitative and depressive behavior as well as the suppression of aggressive behavior in response to interparental depressive behavior were related to increases in depressive symptomatology. For males, on the other hand, the display of aggressive and depressive behavior in response to interparental depressive behavior was related to increases in depression. Results provide preliminary support both for the examination of child responses to conflictual marital behavior and for expanding the conceptualization of conflictual marital behaviors to include depressive as well as the more traditionally examined aggressive behaviors, in order to better understand the link between conflictual marital behavior and child depressive symptomatology.

Family interaction styles of children with depressive disorders, schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and normal controls

Family interaction processes during a problem-solving task were examined in children with depressive disorders, children with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and a normal control group of community children screened for the absence of psychiatric disorder. Major findings were: a) children with depressive disorders were more likely than children with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and children with no psychiatric disorder to direct guilt-inducing comments toward their parents; and b) parents of children with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were more likely to direct harsh critical comments toward the child than were parents of depressed children or parents of normal controls. In addition, children's and mothers' use of benign criticism was linked, while children's harsh criticism was associated with intrusion from the father, and children's self-denigrating comments were related to specific paternal criticism. Implications of these results for understanding transactional processes associated with childhood-onset depressive and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders are discussed.

Maternal interaction style in affective disordered, physically ill, and normal women

Affective style (AS) and communication deviance (CD) have been suggested as markers of dysfunctional family environments that may be associated with psychiatric illness. Studies have focused mainly on parental responses during family interactions when an offspring is the identified patient. The present study is unique in examining AS and CD in mothers with unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, or chronic physical illness, and in normal controls. The sample consisted of 64 mothers with children ages 8 to 16. Unipolar mothers were more likely to show negative AS than were any other maternal group. There were no group differences for CD. Chronic stress, few positive life events, and single parenting were associated with AS. CD was associated solely with lower socioeconomic status. Results suggest that dysfunctional interactions are determined not only by maternal psychopathology, but also by an array of contextual factors that are related to the quality of the family environment.