Reciprocal Associations Among Maternal and Child Characteristics of At-Risk Families: A Longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

The effects of maternal childhood victimization on depression, harsh parenting, and child externalizing problems over 10 years

Physical and sexual abuse have far-reaching mental and behavioral health consequences, extending across the lifespan and, in some cases, across generations. However, empirical work in this area is limited by cross-sectional study designs, short follow-up durations, and data analytic techniques that fail to capture the nuanced developmental processes through which caregivers and children impact one another. The present study investigated the cross-lagged and bidirectional pathways between maternal childhood victimization, depression, harsh parenting, and their children's externalizing symptoms over a 10-year period. Participants were 818 mother-child dyads prospectively identified as at-risk for family violence when children were four years old. Traditional cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) documented that maternal depression, harsh parenting, and child externalizing problems - all predicted by mothers' early abuse experiences - exacerbated one another across time. Discrepancies between the CLPM and RI-CLPM highlighted the advantages, disadvantages, and methodological implications of each approach. Findings highlight maternal psychopathology and parenting as key mechanisms in the intergenerational impact of abuse, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed, parent-mediated interventions for breaking long-term cycles of family dysfunction. The present findings support separating out between-person, trait-like components when interpreting cross-lagged associations, as these may confound within-person effects.

Emotion regulation strategies and depression in mother-adolescent dyads: An actor-partner interdependence model approach

Parent-adolescent emotion dynamics have attracted increasing attention in recent years because adolescence is a challenging period for both adolescents and parents. However, how emotions are coconstructed between parents and adolescents is less clear. This study examined whether mothers' and adolescents' emotion regulation strategy was linked with their own and each other's depression using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). The participants were 173 mother-adolescent pairs (Mother: Mage = 43.05 years old, SD = 3.78; Adolescent: Mage = 13.00 years old, SD = 0.90). The results showed that the more mothers used cognitive reappraisal, the lower their depression levels were; and the more mothers and adolescents used expressive suppression, the higher their levels of depression were. Additionally, maternal expressive suppression was associated with adolescent depressive symptoms. Moreover, the results revealed that for mothers with higher levels of expressive suppression, their adolescents' usage of expressive suppression was significantly positively related to adolescents' depression, while for those mothers with lower levels of expressive suppression, there was no significant correlation between adolescents' usage of expressive suppression and depression. The findings underscore the significance of recognising the interdependence and interconnected nature of emotions within parent-adolescent relationships for a comprehensive understanding of their emotional well-being.

Dyadic parent-adolescent relationship quality as pathways from maternal childhood abuse to adolescent psychopathology

Children of maternal caregivers abused in childhood are at increased risk for mental health problems including anxiety and depression. To date, most studies exploring the intergenerational transmission of trauma have focused on younger children, with far fewer studies investigating adolescent mental health. Previous research suggests that maternal childhood abuse negatively impacts the parent-adolescent relationship, which may contribute to the development and maintenance of adolescent mental health problems. The current study examined dyadic reports of maternal-adolescent relationship quality as mediators linking maternal reports of childhood abuse to adolescent depression and anxiety. The bootstrapped indirect effects from maternal childhood abuse to adolescent symptoms of anxiety and depression were significant through adolescent reports of relationship quality, but not through maternal reports of relationship quality. Findings suggest that an adolescent's perception of their maternal-adolescent relationship may mediate the relationship between their maternal caregiver's childhood abuse and their own symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Longitudinal Dyadic Interdependence in Depression Symptoms of Caregivers Living with HIV in Uganda and Their Dependent Children's Neurodevelopment and Executive Behavior Outcomes

We tested a model of dyadic interdependence in depression symptoms experienced by female caregivers living with HIV in Uganda (n = 288) and behavioral problems of their HIV-infected (n = 92) and perinatally HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children (n = 196). Three repeated measures of caregiver depression symptoms and child neurodevelopment and behavioral outcomes were related to their own outcomes at a previous time point (actor effects), and the outcomes of the other member of the dyad (partner effects). Caregiver depression and child behavioral problem were interdependent over the 24 months of observation. Caregiver depression at T_n predicted child's behavioral problems at T_n+1 (coefficient = 0.1220, SE = 0.0313, p < 0.01); child behavioral problems at T_n predicted maternal depression at T_n+1 (coefficient = 0.0984, SE = 0.0253, p < 0.01). Results suggest the importance of services addressing behavioral needs of affected children and mental health of their mothers.

A Latent Profile Analysis of the Parent-Adolescent Relationship: Assessing Both Parent and Adolescent Outcomes

Using family systems and attachment theory frameworks, this study identified specific dimensions of the parent-adolescent relationship and examined the association between those dimensions and adolescent depression and delinquency, and parental depression 2 years later in a racially and ethnically diverse sample. Parent-adolescent relationships were identified using a person-centered approach, latent profile analysis, using closeness, communication, conflict, and autonomy as dimensions of the relationship. The latent profile analysis produced a four-profile solution, which was labeled secure, avoidant, anxious, and detached. Next, parent and adolescent outcomes were examined. Results indicated that adolescents in the detached profile exhibited the highest amount of delinquency, whereas the parents exhibited the lowest amount of depression. Adolescents in the avoidant profile also exhibited high levels of delinquency, and parents in this profile also exhibited the highest amount of depression symptoms. No profile differences were found for adolescent depression symptoms. Implications for family interventions are discussed.

Substance Abusing Mothers with a History of Childhood Abuse and Their Children's Depressive Symptoms: The Efficacy of Family Therapy

This study examined the associations among maternal history of childhood abuse, substance use, and depressive symptoms and the change in children's depressive symptoms in therapy. Mothers (N = 183) were randomly assigned into either a family or an individual treatment condition. Mothers were assessed for their childhood abuse retrospectively, baseline depressive symptoms, and substance use, whereas their children's depressive symptoms were measured five times during 1.5 years. Maternal childhood abuse was associated with a slower decline in child depressive symptoms through elevated maternal depressive symptoms, only in individual treatment. Maternal substance use further moderated this mediation pathway. This study supports the efficacy of family therapy in protecting children of mothers with a substance use disorder and a history of childhood abuse.

Adaptation and Evaluation of a Nonviolent Resistance Intervention for Foster Parents: A Progress Report

Foster care faces serious challenges, such as behavioral problems in foster children and parental stress and ineffective parenting behavior in foster parents. The results of a pilot study that evaluated a training program for foster parents based on nonviolent resistance are described. In a pretest-posttest design, data were collected from 25 families. Significant reductions in externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behavior in the foster children and in parenting stress were found. Using a reliable change index, significant improvements in externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behavior were found in, respectively, 72, 44, and 80% of the cases. Most improvements proved to be clinically relevant. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large for problem behavior, and from small to medium for parenting stress.