Mothers' Depressive Symptoms and Children's Behavioral Adjustment: The Role of Negative Parental Emotional States

The contribution of fathers and family dynamics to the deleterious effects of mothers' depressive symptoms on children's behavioral adjustment has been evaluated in this study. Using longitudinal data spanning from toddlerhood to grade school (N = 1,311), this study examined whether negative emotional states in both parents related to mothers' cumulative depressive symptoms during the early years of children were associated with children's later internalizing and externalizing problems in grade school. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to segregate between- and within-individual effects. The results demonstrated that, independent of fathers' depressive symptoms, high levels of maternal cumulative depressive symptoms were positively associated with negative emotional states in both parents over time, which then independently mediated the longitudinal associations between mothers' depressive symptoms and children's subsequent behavioral maladjustment, particularly internalizing problems, at the between-individual trait level. The findings highlight the interdependence of family members from a longitudinal perspective and support the unique contributions of both parents' negative emotional states to better understand children's behavioral adjustment in the context of maternal depressive symptoms.