Abstract
This study examined affective/communicative patterns in the interactions of unipolar, bipolar, and well mothers with their preadolescent and adolescent children. As part of a large longitudinal project, mother-child interaction was assessed for two siblings ages 8 to 11 and 12 to 16. Interactional difficulties were linked to both maternal affective illness and child problem status. Preadolescent children appeared more comfortable/happy with well mothers than with affectively ill mothers. Mothers and their preadolescents were more critical/irritable with each other when the child had a psychiatric disorder. Gender differences were apparent, particularly in regard to mother's current psychiatric status. Interactions in adolescent-daughter dyads were more critical when mothers met criteria for a major depressive episode within the month. The results illuminate interactive processes through which psychopathology may be perpetuated in families.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andrews, B., Brown, G. W., & Creasey, L. (1990). Intergenerational links between psychiatric disorder in mothers and daughters: The role of parenting experiences.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 1115–1129.
Beardslee, W. R. (1986). The need for the study of adaptation in the children of parents with affective disorders. In M. Rutter, C. E. Izard, & P. B. Read (Eds.),Depression in young people (pp.189–204).New York:The Guilford Press.
Beardslee, W. R., Bemporad, J., Keller, M. B., & Herman, G. L. (1983). Children of parents with a major affective disorder: A review.American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 825–832.
Beardslee, W. R., Schultz, L. H., & Selman, R. L. (1987). Level of social-cognitive development, adaptive functioning, and DSM-III diagnosis in adolescent offspring of parents with affective disorders: Implications of the development of the capacity for mutuality.Developmental Psychology, 23, 807–815.
Billings, A., & Moos, R. (1985). Children of parents with unipolar depression: A controlled one-year follow-up.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 149–166.
Chodorow, N. (1978).The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Cicchetti, D., & Schneider-Rosen, K. (1984). Toward a transactional model of childhood depression. In D. Cicchetti & K. Schneider-Rosen (Eds.),Childhood depression (pp. 5–27). New Directions for Child Development, No. 26. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cole, D. A., & Rehm, L. P. (1986). Family interaction patterns and childhood depression.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 297–314.
Conrad, M., & Hammen, C. (1989). Role of maternal depression in perceptions of child maladjustment.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 663–667.
Davenport, Y. B., Zahn-Waxler, C., Adland, M. L., & Mayfield, A. (1984). Early child-rearing practices in families with a manic-depressive parent.American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 230–235.
DeMulder, E. K., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1991). Attachment with affectively ill and well mothers: Concurrent behavioral correlates.Development and Psychopathology, 3, 227–242.
Downey, G., & Coyne, J. C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review.Psychological Bulletin, 108, 50–76.
Emde, R. N., Harmon, R. J., & Good, W. V. (1986). Depressive feelings in children: A transactional model for research. In M. Rutter, C. E. Izard, & P. B. Read (Eds.),Depression in young people (pp. 135–160). New York: The Guilford Press.
Field, T., Healy, B., Goldstein, S., & Guthertz, M. (1990). Behavior-state matching and synchrony in mother-infant interactions of nondepressed vs. depressed dyads.Developmental Psychology, 26, 7–14.
Field, T., Sandberg, D., Goldstein, S., Garcia, R., Vega-Lahr, N., Porter, K., & Dowling, M. (1987). Play interactions and interviews of depressed and conduct disordered children and their mothers.Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 17, 213–234.
Gelfand, D. M., & Teti, D. M. (1990). The effects of maternal depression on children.Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 329–353.
Gilligan, C. (1982).In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Goodman, S. H., & Brumley, H. E. (1990). Schizophrenic and depressed mothers: Relational deficits in parenting.Developmental Psychology, 26, 31–39.
Gordon, D., Burge, D., Hammen, C., Adrian, C., Jaenicke, C., & Hiroto, D. (1989). Observations of interactions of depressed women with their children.American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 50–55.
Hammen, C., Burge, D., & Adrian, C. (1991). Timing of mother and child depression in a longitudinal study of children at risk.Journal of Consulting ad Clinical Psychology, 59(2), 341–345.
Hammen, C., Burge, D., Burney, E., & Adrian, C. (1990). Longitudinal study of diagnoses in children of women with unipolar and bipolar affective disorder.Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 1112–1117.
Hammen, C., Burge, D., & Stansbury, K. (1990). Relationship of mother and child variables to child outcomes in a high-risk sample: A causal modeling analysis.Developmental Psychology, 26, 24–30.
Harder, D., Kokes, R., Fisher, L., & Strauss, J. (1980). Child competence and psychiatric risk: Relationships of parent diagnostic classifications and parent psychopathology severity to child functioning.Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168, 343–347.
Herjanic, B., & Reich, W. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 307–324.
Hops, H., Biglan, A., Sherman, L., Arthur, J., Friedman, L., & Osteen, V. (1987). Home observations of family interactions of depressed women.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 341–346.
Inoff-Germain, G., Nottlemann, E., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1992). Evaluative communication between affectively ill and well mothers and their children.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20, 189–212.
Jensen, P. S., Bloedau, L., Degroot, J., Ussery, T., & Davis, H. (1990). Children at risk: I. Risk factors and child symptomatology.Journal for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 51–59.
McGrath, E., Keita, G. P., Strickland, B. R., & Russo, N. F. (Eds.) (1990).Women and depression: Risk factors and treatment issues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1987). Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory.Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 257–282.
Radke-Yarrow, M., Nottelmann, E., Martinez, P., Fox, M. B., & Belmont, B. (1992). Young children of affectively ill parents: A longitudinal study of psychosocial development.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 68–77.
Rutter, M., & Quinton, D. (1984). Parental psychiatric disorder: Effects on children.Psychological Medicine, 14, 853–880.
Sameroff, A. J., Seifer, R., & Zax, M. (1982). Early development of children at risk for emotional disorder.Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 47 (7, Serial No. 199).
Spitzer, R. L., & Endicott, J. (1977).The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia: Lifetime Version. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research.
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J., & Robins, E. (1978). Research Diagnostic Criteria: Rational and reliability.Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 773–782.
Stein, A., Gath, D. H., Bucher, J., Bond, A., Day, A., & Cooper, P. J. (1991). The relationship between post-natal depression and mother-child interaction.British Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 46–52.
Steinberg, L. (1987). Recent research on the family at adolescence: The extent and nature of sex differences.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 191–197.
Stoneman, Z., Brody, G. H., & Burke, M. (1989). Marital quality, depression, and inconsistent patenting: Relationship with observed mother-child conflict.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59, 105–117.
Webster-Stratton, C., & Hammond, M. (1988). Maternal depression and its relationship to life stress, perceptions of child behavior problems, patenting behaviors and child conduct problems.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 299–315.
Weissman, M., & Paykel, E. S. (1974).The depressed woman: A study of social relationships. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Iannotti, R. J., Cummings, E. M., & Denham, S. (1990). Antecedents of problem behaviors in children of depressed mothers.Development and Psychopathology, 2, 271–291.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on the Transition from Infancy to Early Childhood. We appreciate the invaluable assistance of Marcy Mistrett, Kara Goobic, and Elaine Gram in coding the videotapes. Thanks also to John Bartko, Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics Branch, NIMH, for statistical guidance, to Editha Nottelmann and Carolyn Zahn-Waxler for their helpful comments on the manuscript, and to the staff of the Laboratory of Developmental Psychology for data collection and management.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tarullo, L.B., DeMulder, E.K., Martinez, P.E. et al. Dialogues with preadolescents and adolescents: Mother-child interaction patterns in affectively ill and well dyads. J Abnorm Child Psychol 22, 33–51 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169255
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169255