1. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
DOI 10.1007/s10802-007-9129-0
Early-occurring Maternal Depression and Maternal
Negativity in Predicting Young Children’s Emotion
Regulation and Socioemotional Difficulties
Angeline Maughan & Dante Cicchetti & Sheree L. Toth &
Fred A. Rogosch
Received: 27 April 2006 / Accepted: 13 March 2007 / Published online: 15 May 2007
# Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract This longitudinal investigation examined the effects Keywords Early-occurring maternal depression .
of maternal depression and concomitant negative parenting Maternal negativity . Emotion regulation .
behaviors on children’s emotion regulation patterns and Socioemotional functioning .
socioemotional functioning. One hundred fifty-one mothers Mediating and moderating processes
and their children were assessed when children were approx-
imately 1 1/2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-years of age. Ninety-three of the Over the past several decades, investigative efforts aimed at
children had mothers with a history of Major Depressive elucidating the effects of maternal depression on early child
Disorder (MDD) that had occurred within the first 21 months development have burgeoned (Beardslee et al. 1983; Campbell
of the child’s birth, and 58 of the children had mothers without et al. 2004; Cicchetti and Toth 1995; Wickramaratne and
any history of MDD. Early-occurring Initial maternal depres- Weissman 1998). Findings from these investigations reveal
sion predicted children’s dysregulated emotion patterns at age that children who are reared by a depressed caregiver are at
4 and decreased perceived competence ratings at age 5. Initial increased risk for a range of maladaptive developmental
maternal depression also indirectly predicted decreased child outcomes, including socioemotional (Campbell et al. 2004),
social acceptance ratings at age 5 through its association with cognitive (Hay et al. 2001), and neurobiological (Ashman et al.
dysregulated emotion patterns. Furthermore, the relation 2002) deficits.
between maternal depression and children’s decreased social Of particular concern is the overabundance of socio-
acceptance was more pronounced in those offspring with a emotional difficulties evidenced by the children of de-
history of high versus low maternal negativity exposure. pressed parents. For example, children with a clinically
Findings increase understanding of the processes by which depressed parent are 13 times more likely than children in
maternal depression confers risk on children’s socioemotional the general population to receive a childhood diagnosis of
adjustment. major depressive disorder if the onset of the parent’s
depression occurred before the age of 30 (Wickramaratne and
Weissman 1998) and are reported to have elevated rates of
A. Maughan (*) suicidal ideation (Garber et al. 1998) and disruptive and
Department of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital Boston,
anxiety disorders (Radke-Yarrow et al. 1998). Moreover, the
Harvard Medical School,
300 Longwood Avenue, offspring of depressed caregivers have been found to be more
Boston, MA 02115, USA antisocial (Wright et al. 2000), aggressive (Zahn-Waxler et al.
e-mail: angeline.maughan@childrens.harvard.edu 1992), and socially withdrawn (Rubin et al. 1991) during peer
D. Cicchetti
interactions than the children of nondepressed caregivers.
Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Although our knowledge of the socioemotional sequelae
Minneapolis, MN, USA of being reared by a depressed caregiver has expanded
greatly, less is known about how and why maternal
S. L. Toth : F. A. Rogosch
depression poses a significant risk for children’s socioemo-
Department of Clinical and Social Sciences,
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, tional adjustment. For some time, theorists have asserted
Rochester, NY, USA that emotional problems in childhood reflect difficulties in

2. 686 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
the regulation of emotion (Cole and Zahn-Waxler 1992). and ability to process and manage emotions effectively,
Therefore, understanding how maternal depression and heightening their risk for future socioemotional difficulties.
specific correlates of maternal depression (i.e., maternal
negativity) affect children’s ability to regulate emotion
effectively and the role emotion dysregulation plays in the Maternal Depression (Timing and Chronicity),
emergence of socioemotional difficulties in the offspring of Maternal Negativity, and Children’s Emotion
depressed caregivers are much needed areas of research Regulation Functioning
(Silk et al. 2006) and serve as the primary investigative
goals of the present prospective longitudinal investigation. Numerous findings in the literature provide evidence to
support the deleterious effects of maternal depression and
concomitant negative parenting behaviors on children’s
Guiding Theoretical Perspective emotion regulation functioning. For example, Field et al.
(1985) found that depressed caregivers exhibited less
Emotion regulation is a developmentally acquired process contingent responsivity, provided less stimulation, and
that emerges as a byproduct of both intrinsic features (i.e., showed more flat affect during interactions with their
genetic heritability, homeostatic mechanisms, and temper- 3-month-old infants than did nondepressed mothers. In
ament, Kagan 1994; Rothbart et al. 1995) and extrinsic response, the infants of depressed caregivers were
socioemotional experiences, primarily within the context of fussier, less attentive, less positive, and less active than
early parent–child interactions (Sroufe 1996). The theoret- the offspring of nondepressed mothers. Similarly, Cohn
ical assumptions of the emotional security hypothesis have et al. (1990) reported increased rates of negative maternal
significantly advanced our understanding of the extrinsic factors, including irritability, sadness, disinterest and intrusive
influences on emotion regulation development and how the handling, in middle-income nonworking depressed mothers
quality of the interparental and parent–child relationships during interactions with their 2-month-old infants as com-
can enhance or undermine children’s emotional functioning pared to nondepressed controls. The infants of these depressed
and future adjustment (Cummings and Davies 1995; Davies nonworking mothers, in turn, expressed reduced rates of
and Cummings 1994). As posited by Davies and Cummings positive affect as compared to the infants of nondepressed and
(1994), feelings of emotional insecurity provide an explan- depressed working caregivers. In an older sample of depressed
atory construct for how compromised caregiving environ- offspring, Zahn-Waxler et al. (1990a, b) reported increased
ments (e.g., those characterized by elevated levels of marital patterns of overarousal and overinvolvement and feelings of
discord and parenting difficulties, as is common in house- guilt in the youngsters of depressed mothers as compared to
holds with a depressed caregiver) are associated with the children of healthy caregivers. In fact, longitudinal
children’s risk for socioemotional problems. Specifically, findings have revealed early and persistent emotional
the emotional security hypothesis proposes that children’s problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, and externalizing symp-
behavioral and emotional responses to stressful events toms) from childhood to late adolescences in children of
represent goal-directed strategies aimed at maintaining and depressed mothers (Radke-Yarrow et al. 1998).
enhancing feelings of emotional security. Although the Additional evidence indicates that the timing of maternal
regulatory processes associated with emotional security depressive episodes over the course of a child’s development
typically serve adaptive functions, prolonged efforts to and its impact on child functioning matters (Cogill et al.
preserve emotional security in conflictual and/or insensitive 1986). Specifically, depressive episodes in caregivers that
family environments can result in maladaptive emotion occur during early stages of development have been found
regulation processes. to have a negative effect on future child adjustment,
For many children reared by a depressed caregiver, direct regardless of whether the mother’s depression subsequently
as well as indirect interactions with that caregiver are remits or not. Murray et al. (1999), for example, reported
often characterized by less positive, insensitive, and some- that maternal depression that occurred 2-months postpar-
times unpredictable interpersonal exchanges, resulting in tum, but not current maternal depressive symptoms,
children’s decreased sense of emotional security. When predicted child behavior during both caregiver and peer
feelings of emotional insecurity predominate, environmental interactions as well as maternal reports of child behavior
stressors can easily overwhelm a child’s self-regulatory problems at age 5. Specifically, Murray and colleagues
abilities. Under these conditions, emotion dysregulation— found that the children of postnatally depressed mothers
typically of two forms; over- and underregulation—often evidenced higher rates of neuroticism and antisocial
results (Cole et al. 1994). As such, relational and affective behaviors and were more likely to respond negatively to
disturbances in families with a depressed caregiver pose a friendly peer initiatives at age 5 than the youngsters of
significant threat to children’s feelings of emotional security healthy controls.

3. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 687
Researchers have also examined how the course or challenges, children who have developed the capacity to
chronicity of maternal depressive symptoms impact mater- regulate their emotions effectively are more likely to
nal behavior and child functioning (Alpern and Lyons-Ruth engage in social exchanges with peers that are positive
1993). When maternal depressive symptoms are chronic, and personally rewarding. Healthy peer interactions then, in
parenting behaviors are more likely to be impaired than turn, promote the development of social competence and
when symptoms are transient or intermittent in nature. adaptive peer relationships. Alternatively, when youngsters
Therefore, chronic depression in caregivers may pose more with poorly developed self-regulatory skills are confronted
of a risk to children due to their extended and unremitted with social experiences that tax their capacity to maintain
exposure to negative maternal affective states and insensi- emotional control, failures of emotion regulation (e.g.,
tive parenting behaviors. In support of the assertion, temper tantrums and aggressive outbursts) are likely to
Campbell et al. (1995), for instance, examined the effects result. Emotion regulation difficulties in the peer arena
of depression chronicity on early mother–infant interactions increase children’s vulnerability to peer rejection and
and found that chronically depressed mothers and their victimization and social isolation, as well as accompanying
infants were less positive during mother–infant face-to-face negative social self-perceptions.
interactions as compared to dyads with mothers whose Empirical findings consistently support the claim that
depression had remitted. Additionally, the National Institute deviant emotion regulation capacities in children (i.e.,
of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early emotional undercontol [e.g., aggression] and/or overcontrol
Child Care Research Network (1999) reported that mothers [e.g., withdrawal]) pose a significant risk for the emergence of
who reported chronic depressive symptoms were the least dysfunctional social relationships and social self-perceptions
sensitive toward their infants and rated their 3-year-old by precluding children from important socialization experi-
children as less cooperative and more problematic as ences that aid in the development of socially competent
compared to mothers who endorsed some or no depression. behavior. For example, aggression in childhood has been
In a more recent NICHD report, maternal sensitivity was linked to peer rejection (Little and Garber 1995) and
found to interact with maternal depressive symptoms to adolescent delinquent activity (Rubin et al. 1995) and
predict child attachment security, such that the children of childhood social withdrawal has been shown to predict felt
depressed mothers low in sensitivity were more likely to be insecurity, loneliness, and negative self-regard in adolescence
insecurely attached than the youngsters of depressed care- (Rubin et al. 1995).
givers rated high in sensitivity (Campbell et al. 2004).
In sum, maternal depression and concomitant negative
parenting behaviors have been associated with poor socio- Emotion Regulation as a Mediator
emotional outcomes in children, and negative parenting in
depressed caregivers has been found to potentiate (i.e., Given that maternal depression has been found to predict
moderate) the negative effects of maternal depression on both children’s deficits in emotion regulation abilities and
child adjustment. Additionally, depression in caregivers that their socioemotional functioning and that emotion dysregu-
occurs early on during the course of a child’s development lation has been linked to problematic behavior in children,
and chronic maternal depressive symptoms have both been it is reasonable to hypothesize that the relation between
found to have adverse effects on children’s socioemotional maternal depression and maladaptive socioemotional child
well being. outcomes may be mediated by deficits in children’s
emotion regulation capacities. To our knowledge, this
mediational process has not been explicitly tested longitu-
Emotion Regulation and Future Socioemotional dinally in offspring of depressed mothers.
Competence In contrast, support for the above mediational hypothesis
has been found in children with a history of maltreatment.
The ability to regulate emotion effectively plays an integral Maughan and Cicchetti (2002) reported that child maltreat-
role in the acquisition of future childhood competencies, ment predicted higher rates of dysregulated emotion
particularly the establishment of peer relationships and patterns, specifically undercontrolled emotion strategies,
development of social competence (Sroufe 1996). Inter- which in turn, were related to elevated levels of children’s
actions with peers pose a significant challenge to pre- anxious/depressed symptoms. Additional support for the
schoolers’ emotion regulation capacities because children mediating role of emotional processes in the association
must be able to manage the normally-occurring social and between optimal and nonoptimal caregiving environments
affective demands of peer exchanges (e.g., remaining and parental behaviors and children’s socioemotional
organized in response to anger and frustration and adjustment has been found in the marital conflict literature
cooperating with others) (Sroufe 1996). Given these (Davies and Cummings 1998) as well as in non-risk

4. 688 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
samples (Eisenberg et al. 2001). For example, Davies and Davies and Forman (2002), and Maughan and Cicchetti
Cummings found evidence for the mediating role of (2002) all of whom utilized person-centered methodologies
emotional security in the marital conflict—child adjustment to identify individual patterns of emotion regulation in
relationship and Eisenberg and colleagues reported that children. For example, in a sample of low-income mal-
children’s regulation mediated the relation between both treated children, Maughan and Cicchetti (2002) identified
negative and positive expressivity in mothers and children’s three person-centered emotion regulation patterns (EMRPs)
externalizing behavior problems and social adjustment. based on the integration of children’s discrete emotional
behavioral reactions and subjective reports in response to
witnessed interadult anger. Children classified with adap-
Assessment of Emotion Regulation: Person- Versus tive EMRPs displayed moderate levels of negative affect
Variable-centered Approaches that were well modulated during and after anger exposure.
In contrast, children identified with undercontrolled EMRPs
An organizational perspective on development has contributed exhibited elevated and prolonged rates of emotionality that
to important advancements in how children’s emotion regula- was often indecisive, disorganized, and not goal oriented.
tion abilities are assessed (Cicchetti and Schneider-Rosen Finally, children classified with overcontrolled EMRPs
1984; Sroufe 1996). Similar to attachment security (Sroufe were characterized by low levels or the absence of overt
and Waters 1977), theorists view emotion regulation as an emotional behavioral reactivity and inhibition of the
organizational construct, the expression of which is manifested expression of visible signs of distress or discomfort in
through a series of biological, emotional, and behavioral response to the witnessed exchange.
reorganizations in response to stressful events. As such, the In sum, person-centered methodologies have effectively
adaptability of an individual’s emotion regulation abilities is been utilized to examine the emotion functioning of children
not determined by the calculation of an overall mean score on a from a variety of caregiving environments and provide a more
single emotion variable. Rather, it is inferred from the useful means of assessing children’s increasingly complex and
integration of numerous emotion indicators and whether the dynamic emotion regulation abilities than commonly applied
emotion regulation pattern that emerges promotes or precludes variable-centered approaches.
the individual’s general competence in his/her interactions with
the environment and successful attainment of subsequent
developmental tasks (Cicchetti and Schneider-Rosen 1986;
Sroufe 1996). Design of the Present Investigation and Hypotheses
Relatedly, Bergman and Mangnusson (1997) claim that
the traditional application of a variable-centered approach The present investigation was designed to examine the
in research on developmental psychology and psychopa- prospective longitudinal effects of maternal depression and
thology has important limitations in understanding more concomitant negative parenting behaviors on children’s
complex, dynamic processes (such as children’s capacity to person-centered patterns of emotion regulation and socio-
regulate emotion) due to it’s use of variables as the main emotional functioning. In addition, the mediating and
units of statistical analyses and the study of linear relation- moderating roles of emotion regulation patterns and
ships across individuals. Specifically, these authors argue maternal negativity in the association between maternal
that “the modeling/description of variables over individuals depression and children’s socioemotional adjustment were
can be very difficult to translate into properties character- evaluated. With the exception of maternal depression, study
izing single individuals because the information provided variables were assessed at stage-salient periods only rather
by the statistical method is variable oriented, not individual than repeatedly across assessments. For example, emotion
oriented” (p.292). As such, Bergman and Mangnusson regulation patterns were evaluated when children were
stress the salience of incorporating person-centered meth- approximately 4 years of age because the preschool years
odologies in research designs, whereby overall profiles or are marked by the emergence of self-regulatory capacities
patterns of individual functioning, including their interac- and an increase and diversification of emotion regulation
tion structures, are of primary analytical interest. abilities (Cicchetti and Schneider-Rosen 1986). In addition,
To date, past efforts to study the emotion regulation child social self-perceptions were assessed at age 5 because
abilities of children from non-optimal caregiving environ- children are increasingly more autonomous and engaged in
ments have focused largely on variable-centered aspects of their social environments during this age period than in
emotion functioning (i.e., levels of aggression, distress, and previous years. Data for the present investigation were
withdrawal), rather than on organized patterns of emotion drawn from a larger ongoing prospective longitudinal
regulation. Exceptions to this include work by Cummings investigation of the effects of maternal depression on
and colleagues (Cummings 1987; El-Sheikh et al. 1989), parent–child relationships and child development (Cicchetti

5. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 689
et al. 1998). The following hypotheses were advanced on papers, newsletters, medical offices, and community bulle-
the basis of the literature: tin boards. A broad community-based sampling strategy
was employed, as opposed to recruiting exclusively from
(1) Children of mothers with a history of early-occurring
treatment facilities, to increase generalizability of findings
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), depression that
to depressed mothers with and without a treatment history.
occurred between birth and the Initial evaluation, will
In addition to having a child of approximately 21-months of
be more likely to exhibit dysregulated emotion
age, diagnostic inclusion criteria for mothers in the
patterns at age 4 and have higher child self-report
depressed groups required mothers to meet Diagnostic and
ratings of socioemotional difficulties at age 5 than the
Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R;
children of mothers without a history of MDD.
American Psychiatric Association 1987) criteria for MDD
(2) Recurrent MDD, depression occurring across multiple
at some point since the birth of their child. In order to
assessment periods, will be related to greater difficulty
minimize co-occurring risk factors that may accompany
in emotion regulation and socioemotional functioning
depression (Downey and Coyne 1990), mothers were
in children.
required to have at least a high school education and
(3) Mothers with a history of depression will be more
families could not be reliant on public assistance.
negative toward their children, and maternal negativity
Comparison participants were recruited by contacting
will moderate the association between maternal depres-
parents identified through county birth records who had similar
sion and children’s emotion regulation and socioemo-
socioeconomic backgrounds and who lived in the same
tional outcomes. Specifically, heightened levels of
geographic locations as did the depressed mothers. The control
maternal negativity will potentiate the deleterious effects
group mothers were screened for the presence or history of
of maternal depression on children’s emotion regulation
major psychiatric disorder using the Diagnostic Interview
abilities and socioemotional functioning. Maternal neg-
Schedule III-R (DIS-III-R; Robins et al. 1985), and only
ativity will be related to greater emotion dysregulation
mothers without a history of any Axis I mental disorder were
and socioemotional difficulties in children.
retained. Mothers in the control group who developed a
(4) Dysregulated emotion patterns will be associated with
psychiatric disorder over the course of the investigation were
increased child self-report ratings of socioemotional
excluded from the investigation (n=4). Informed consent was
problems and will mediate the relation between
obtained from all study participants. More depressed than
maternal depression and children’s socioemotional
control mothers were recruited in order to examine individual
outcomes.
variability in the at risk group in greater detail.
Demographics Children and their mothers in the depressed
Materials and Methods and nondepressed comparison groups were comparable on
a range of demographic variables at the Initial assessment
Participants period. As shown in Table 1, offspring of depressed and
nondepressed mothers did not differ in gender or age across
One hundred fifty-one mothers and their children from the four assessment periods. The two groups were compa-
predominantly middle to upper income households were rable on maternal and paternal education, family socioeco-
assessed on four separate occasions. Children were approx- nomic status (Hollingshead 1975), number of adults and
imately 21 months of age (M=20.68, SD=2.40) at the Initial children in the home, and maternal race. Although the
assessment period, 39 months of age (M=38.63, SD=2.73) majority of mothers in the depressed (82.8%) and nonde-
at the age 3 evaluation, 51 months of age (M=51.20, SD= pressed comparison (98.3%) groups were married, a higher
4.28) at the age 4 assessment, and 62 months of age (M= percentage of depressed caregivers were either separated,
62.03, SD=2.72) at the age 5 evaluation period. At the divorced, or never married. Marital status was not signif-
Initial assessment, 93 of the children had mothers with a icantly correlated with key study outcome variables and, as
history of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) that had such, was not considered further.
occurred during the first 21 months following the child’s
birth, and 58 of the children had mothers without a past or Sample Retention Of the original 151 mother–child pairs
current history of MDD or any other Axis I mental disorder. who completed the Initial assessment, 150 participated
in the age 3 evaluation, 151 participated in the age 4
Participant Recruitment and Study Inclusion Criteria A assessment, and 137 participated in the age 5 evaluation.
community sample of mothers with a history of MDD was This represents an attrition rate of only 9% (n=14) from
recruited through referrals from local mental health the Initial to age 5 assessment periods. Of the 14 families
professionals and through advertisements in local news- that did not complete the age 5 assessment, seven were

6. 690 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
Table 1 Comparison of initial depressed and nondepressed groups on general demographic variables
Variables Initial depressed Nondepressed comparisons
M SD M SD T
Child age (months):
Time 1 20.46 (2.24) 21.05 (2.62) 1.49
Time 2 38.72 (3.26) 38.48 (1.60) <1
Time 3 51.26 (4.02) 51.11 (4.70) <1
Time 4 61.85 (3.23) 62.32 (1.57) <1
Maternal education (years) 15.00 (1.66) 14.93 (1.71) <1
Paternal education (years) 14.39 (2.33) 5.03 (1.94) 1.75
Family Hollingshead (SES) 46.39 (11.92) 49.63 (10.73) 1.69
Number adults in home 2.18 (0.83) 2.07 (0.32) <1
Number children in home 1.86 (0.97) 2.10 (0.91) 1.54
% (n) % (n) χ2
Child gender:
Male 48.4 (45) 53.4 (31) <1
Female 51.6 (48) 46.6 (27)
Marital status:
Married 82.8 (77) 98.3 (57) 8.85*
Separated 6.5 (6) 0 (0.0)
Divorced 3.2 (3) 0 (0.0)
Never married 7.5 (7) 1.7 (1)
Maternal race:
Minority 6.5 (6) 5.2 (3) <1
Non-minority 93.5 (87) 94.8 (55)
SES socioeconomic status, *p<0.05.
from the depressed group and seven were from the experienced a major depressive episode between the ages 4
nondepressed comparison group. Level of attrition did and 5 evaluations).
not differ significantly by group membership, χ2(1)=<1, For approximately 23% of the depressed mothers, the major
n.s. In addition, no significant group differences were found depressive episode that occurred during the child’s first
between families that did and did not complete the age 5 21 months of life was an initial onset episode and for the
evaluation across important demographic characteristics, remaining depressed caregivers (77%) it was a recurrent
including marital status [χ2(1)=1.96, n.s.], maternal race episode. The recurrence of maternal depression from the Initial
[χ2(1)=1.91, n.s.], child age [t (149)=1.16, n.s.], maternal assessment to the age 5 evaluation also was examined. In the
education [t (149)<1, n.s.], paternal education [t (149)<1, depressed group, 21.5% of the mothers were depressed at two
n.s.], and family socioeconomic status [t (149)<1, n.s.]. time points, 11.8% were diagnosed with depression at three
time points, and 7.5% were depressed at all four time points.
Maternal Depression Characteristics As mentioned previ- Caregivers meeting diagnostic criteria for MDD at multiple
ously, all of the mothers in the depressed group at the Initial assessment periods were considered “recurrent” and mothers
assessment period (n=93) met diagnostic criteria for major meeting diagnostic criteria for MDD at only the Initial
depressive disorder (MDD) at some point during their evaluation were considered “non-recurrent.” In the depressed
child’s first 21 months of life. At the age 3 assessment group, 59.1% (n=55) of the mothers had a non-recurrent
period, 26.9% (n=25) of the mothers in the depressed history of depression and 40.9% (n=38) had a history of
group continued to meet diagnostic criteria for MDD (i.e., recurrent depression.
had experienced a major depressive episode between the
Initial and age 3 evaluations). At the age 4 evaluation, 18%
(n=16) of the caregivers who were depressed at the Initial Procedure
assessment period continued to meet criteria for MDD (i.e.,
had experienced a major depressive episode between the General Overview In the larger ongoing longitudinal study
ages 3 and 4 assessments). Finally, 26.7% (n=23) of the (Cicchetti et al. 1998), additional procedures and parent and
mothers in the Initial depression group meet diagnostic self-report measures were obtained at each assessment.
criteria for MDD at the age 5 assessment period (i.e., had However, only those relevant to current study hypotheses

7. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 691
are presented herein. At the Initial evaluation, mothers were consistent order across participants, and dyads were given
administered the DIS-III-R and a demographic interview in 5-min to attempt to solve each task. The tasks in order of
their homes by trained research assistants who were their presentation were a shape sorter game, a spool
unaware of study hypotheses and recruitment status. stringing task, a beanbag clown toss, a ring toss, an Etch-
Families meeting research criteria were retained in the A-Sketch maze task, and a circus puzzle. Mothers were
sample. The DIS-III-R and a follow-up demographic instructed to allow their children to solve the tasks on their
interview were administered again to mother participants own and to give their children whatever help they saw fit.
at the ages 3, 4, and 5 assessment periods. In addition, at The tasks are designed to tax the child’s problem-solving
age 3, mother–child dyads participated in six problem- skills and elicit a response from caregivers. The procedure
solving tasks from which maternal insensitivity ratings was conducted in a laboratory setting, and mother–child
were obtained. At the age 4 assessment period, mother– dyads were videotaped through a one-way mirror for
child pairs participated in an experimental paradigm subsequent coding.
involving simulated interadult anger from which children’s
emotion regulation patterns (EMRPs) were assessed. Anger Simulation This paradigm was adapted from Cum-
Finally, at age 5, a self-report measure of children’s mings and colleagues’ normative developmental research
socioemotional functioning was obtained. on marital conflict (Cummings 1987; Cummings et al.
1989). The procedure is designed to observe children’s
emotional behavioral responses and regulation strategies in
Measures response to a stressful event (i.e., interadult anger). The
observational setting used was a playroom with age-
Diagnostic Interview Schedule III-R (DIS-III-R) The DIS- appropriate toys and a chair for the mother. Before the
III-R (Robins et al. 1985) was developed to evaluate the procedure began, mothers were briefed about its details and
diagnostic criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical their role in the simulation. They were told to fill out
Manual of Mental Disorders, III-R version (DSM-III-R; “pretend” paperwork during the simulation and not to
American Psychiatric Association 1987). The DIS-III-R initiate play or talk with their child.
was used in the present study due to the longitudinal nature During the 15-min procedure, children were exposed to
of the investigation. Despite the availability of more three scripted simulations of 1–1 1/2 min affective
recently revised versions of the DIS, these were not in interactions between their mothers and a research assistant.
press when the study began. No differences in diagnostic These interactions in order of their presentation were
criteria for MDD exist among the DIS-III-R and more friendly, angry, and reconciliatory, separated by 3-min
current versions of the diagnostic interview. This interview neutral periods, with the research assistant absent from the
consists of approximately 260 items designed to be observation room. The 3-min interspersed neutral periods
administered in a standard sequence. Questions are an- were included in the simulation to provide an opportunity
swered on a yes/no basis. Because of the structured format to observe latent or inhibited emotional behavioral
of the interview, sensitive clinical judgments are not responses not otherwise exhibited in the presence of the
required and, therefore, the interview can be administered research assistant. All research assistants were females who
by lay interviewers. The DIS assesses the presence of Axis were unaware of depression status and study hypotheses.
I adult psychiatric disorders and allows for the assignment Participants were exposed to similar levels of emotional
of 49 DSM-III-R diagnoses. All interviewers were trained intensity and all verbal exchanges were directed toward the
to criterion reliability in the administration of the DIS, and mother and not the child and
computer generated diagnoses were utilized. The DIS has Mothers were told to modulate their facial affect to fit
undergone development and reliability and validity studies each simulation segment and not to argue back or to laugh,
for use in psychiatric epidemiological field studies (Robins and only to provide responses outlined within the script.
et al. 1981; Robins et al. 1982). The monitoring of maternal affect and behavior was
conducted during the procedure in order to enhance the
Dyadic Problem-solving Tasks At age 3, mothers and their natural quality of the interadult exchange, as well as to
38-month-old children completed a series of six problem- ensure consistency in response patterns across mother
solving tasks. Maternal negativity was assessed while their participants. All mother participants complied with simula-
child attempted to solve the task. Tasks and maternal tion instructions. At the completion of each anger simula-
coding procedures were adapted from Lewis and col- tion, the child was debriefed regarding the pretend nature of
leagues’ secondary emotion research (Alessandri and Lewis the exchange. The entire anger simulation sequence was
1996; Lewis et al. 1992). The problem-solving tasks were videotaped through a one-way mirror for subsequent coding
individually presented to each mother–child dyad in a and analysis.

8. 692 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young from videotaped recordings using Cummings’ (1987)
Children This self-report measure (Harter and Robin 1984) person-centered classification system. Consistent with past
is a downward extension of the Perceived Competence research (Cummings 1987; El-Sheikh et al. 1989; Maughan
Scale for Children (Harter 1982) and is designed to assess and Cicchetti 2002), coding of children’s EMRPs followed
perceived competence and social acceptance in preschool- a multi-step procedure. First, using a coding scheme
aged children and older using a pictorial format. The adapted from Cummings and colleagues’ prior work
measure assesses children’s perceptions of their competence (Davies 1998), 16 discrete emotional behavioral responses
in four domains, including cognitive competence (e.g., were coded as either present or absent during 30-s intervals
good at puzzles, knows alphabet), physical competence (e.g., across the simulation’s six event sequences. Discrete
can tie shoes, good at hopping), peer acceptance (e.g., has behaviors included sadness/crying, whining, anxiety/freez-
lots of friends, gets asked to play with others), and maternal ing, anger, physical aggression, verbal aggression, object-
acceptance (e.g., Mom reads to you, Mom cooks your related aggression, dysregulated aggression/lose of control,
favorite foods). The cognitive competence and physical smiling/laughing, preoccupation, verbal concern, requests
competence domains make up the perceived competence to leave, shutting out, getting comfort from mother,
scale and the peer acceptance and maternal acceptance helping/instructing mother, and comforting/protecting
domains make up the perceived social acceptance scale. mother.
Child responses were scored on a 4-point scale, 1 indicating Using children’s coded discrete emotion responses, three
low self-perceptions of competence/acceptance and 4 indi- different aspects of emotion modulation were then coded
cating high self-perceptions of competence/acceptance. during the anger and reconciliation periods of the simula-
Previous research has demonstrated that this measure is tion. These included latency to onset of emotional reactiv-
reliable and has good discriminate, predictive, and conver- ity, rise time to peak emotional arousal, and verbal
gent validity (Brody et al. 2004; Harter and Robin 1984). In regulation of emotion (Frodi and Thompson 1985). Latency
the present study, alpha coefficients for the perceived to onset of emotional reactivity was operationally defined
competence and social acceptance scales were 0.68 and as the number of 30-s intervals between anger exposure and
0.73, respectively. the onset of expressed emotion. Rise time to peak arousal
was operationally defined as the number of 30-s intervals
between the child’s initial exposure to interadult anger and
Coding his/her highest frequency or peak level of discrete emo-
tional reactivity. Verbal regulation of emotion was opera-
Maternal Negativity Maternal negativity ratings were based tionally defined as the frequency with which the child
on the frequency of negative maternal verbalizations and talked about the witnessed angry exchange with his/her
affective and behavioral expressions toward the child caregiver. Children’s verbal concern discrete code during
during the six problem-solving tasks (Alessandri and Lewis the anger and reconciliation periods was used as an
1996). Maternal negativity ratings included any facial indicator of the child’s verbal processing of the affective
expression (e.g., a frown and/or angry affect), vocalization experience.
(e.g., “No!”; “Can’t you do anything right!”), and/or bodily Finally, tapes were viewed a second time to capture a
expression (e.g., shaking head and looking away) of sense of children’s regulatory profiles by assessing chil-
disappointment, rejection, and/or hostility directed toward dren’s global emotional reactivity and self-regulatory
the child and/or his/her performance. Coders viewed abilities before, during, and after anger exposure. With
videotapes and recorded the frequency of negative maternal children’s coded discrete emotional behavioral response
verbalizations and affective and behavioral expressions profiles across the six event sequences (friendly exchange
during each 5-min problem-solving task procedure. Mater- through post-reconciliation neutral period) and emotion
nal negativity frequency scores were summed across the six modulation scores in hand, coders classified children as
problem-solving tasks. This summed score was used in exhibiting either an adaptively regulated, undercontrolled,
subsequent analyses. or overcontrolled EMRP based on answers to the following
Coders were two trained bachelor level research assistants overall profile assessments: (1) Does the child exhibit
who were unaware of maternal depression status and study generally low, moderate, or high levels of emotional
hypotheses. A reliability analysis was conducted on 20% of behavioral reactivity in response to the witnessed ex-
the sample and adequate reliability was attained. The intra- change?; (2) Does the child exhibit any overt displays of
class correlation for maternal negativity total scores was 0.87. dysregulated emotion (e.g., presence of dysregulated
aggression/loss of control, responses are aimless and/or
Emotion Regulation Patterns (EMRPs) Children’s EMRPs disorganized)?; (3) What is the duration of the child’s
in response to the simulated anger procedure were coded emotional responses across the simulation procedure (e.g.,

9. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 693
do responses subside or continue after witnessed reconcil- and child socioemotional adjustment at age 5. Next, the
iation)?; (4) Are emotional behavioral responses congruent relations among maternal negativity, child EMRPs, and
with procedural demands (e.g., elevated reactivity during child socioemotional outcomes were evaluated. Finally,
anger exposure and amelioration of responses during paths from early-occurring Initial maternal depression (i.e.,
conflict resolution)?; and (5) Is the child able to effectively depression that has occurred at some time during the first
modulate the intensity and duration of his/her emotional 21 months of the child’s life) to children’s dysregulated
behavioral responses (e.g., latency period between anger EMRPs at age 4 and socioemotional problems at age 5 were
exposure and emotion expression, rise time to peak arousal, evaluated. Gender of child was not included as a predictor
and ability to verbally process witnessed event with mother)?. because it was correlated with only one of five key outcome
Table 2 displays example responses to the above overall variables (i.e., age 5 perceived competence ratings, r=0.18,
profile assessments for the three EMRP classifications. p<0.05). The effect of child gender on perceived compe-
Overall, 58 children were classified with adaptively tence scores was statistically controlled by generating an
regulated EMRPs, 83 were designated with undercontrolled unstandardized residualized variable utilizing linear regres-
EMRPs, and ten were classified with overcontrolled sion techniques (Cohen et al. 2002), whereby perceived
EMRPs. Detailed profile descriptions of the three EMRPs competence scores were regressed on child gender. This
are provided in the results section. A reliability analysis of unstandardized residualized perceived competence variable
discrete emotional reactivity and emotion modulation codes was used in all subsequent analyses.
and overall EMRP ratings were conducted on 25% of the
sample (i.e., 38 tapes). Coders were trained graduate level Emotional Response Profiles of Children’s EMRPs
research assistants who were unaware of maternal depres-
sion status and study hypotheses. All interrater disagree- Discrete emotional reactivity and emotion modulation
ments were resolved by discussion. Intraclass correlation codes from the simulated anger procedure were examined
coefficients for the 16 discrete emotion codes ranged from to assess the emotional response profiles of children’s
0.75 to 1.00 and coefficients for each of the three emotion person-centered EMRPs. First, the 16 discrete emotional
modulation codes were 1.00. Kappas for the three EMRPs reactivity codes were combined using factor analytic
were as follows: adaptively regulated, κ=0.78; under- procedures to create composite indexes of children’s
controlled, κ=0.88; and overcontrolled, κ=0.74. emotional responses due to low frequency rates of
individual discrete codes. Total frequency scores were
calculated for each discrete emotion code by summing
frequency counts across two of the anger simulation
Results segments (angry and reconciliation periods). Principal
components analysis extraction method was used and a
Overview of Data Analytic Strategy varimax rotation was employed. Five factors with eigen-
values greater than 1 emerged and a loading cutoff of 0.3 or
Emotional response profiles of children’s person-centered greater was used to determine factor structure (Pedhazur
EMRPs are first presented. Then, the proposed hypotheses and Schmelkin 1991). After rotation, the percentage of total
were evaluated in several stages. First, correlations among variance accounted for by the five factors was 66.4%. The
key study variables are presented, followed by a more discrete emotion codes that adequately loaded on the anger/
detailed examination of the effects of maternal depression hostility factor included anger, physical aggression, verbal
on maternal negativity at age 3, children’s EMRPs at age 4, aggression, object-related aggression, and dysregulated
Table 2 Example responses to overall profile assessments for the three EMRP classifications
Adaptively
Regulated EMRP Undercontrolled EMRP Overcontrolled EMRP
Overall Profile Assessments
1. Level of emotional behavioral reactivity Moderate High Low
2. Overt displays of dysregulated emotion No Yes No
3. Duration of emotional behavioral responses Moderate Extended Brief
4. Responses congruent with procedural demands Yes No No
5. Effectively modulate emotion responses Yes No No
EMRPs emotion regulation patterns.

10. 694 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
aggression/lose of control. The active concern factor tivity composites and three emotion modulation codes (i.e.,
included verbal concern, helping/instructing mother, and latency to onset, rise time to peak arousal, and verbal
comforting/protecting mother discrete codes. Preoccupa- regulation of emotion) (See Table 3). As shown in Table 3,
tion, anxiety/freezing, and get comfort from mother codes children classified with adaptively regulated EMRPs dis-
all adequately loaded on the fear/support seeking factor. played moderate frequencies of emotional reactivity that
The discrete emotion codes that loaded on the high distress emerged and peaked in a timely manner and whose
factor included whining and sadness/crying. Finally, the processing of the emotional event with caregivers appeared
avoidance factor included shutting out and requests to leave to be effective in helping the child to modulate his/her
responses. The discrete emotion codes that comprised each arousal and resume baseline arousal levels. In contrast,
of the five factors were then summed to create five youngsters classified with undercontrolled EMRPs
composite indices of children’s emotional reactivity in exhibited elevated frequencies of emotional reactivity in
response to the friendly, angry, and reconciliation periods response to witnessed anger. These children’s heightened
of the simulation. Comparison of mean frequencies of child reactivity often extended into the reconciliation period,
emotional reactivity composites during the three simulation even after witnessing the conflict resolution between the
periods revealed that the manipulation was successful in mother and the confederate. Although undercontrolled
eliciting emotional behavioral reactions in response to children attempted to verbally process the emotional event
interadult anger exposure (e.g., higher emotional reactivity with caregivers, this strategy did not appear to be effective
scores during the angry than the friendly simulation period). in modulating their affective arousal, as evidenced by
Then, general linear model (GLM) multivariate proce- elevated emotional reactivity and verbal regulation of
dures followed by analysis of variance (ANOVAs) and a emotion scores in both the angry and reconciliation periods.
priori contrasts were performed to examine overall and Finally, children classified with overcontrolled EMRPs
individual EMRP differences on the five emotional reac- displayed low rates of emotional reactivity and appeared
Table 3 Mean frequencies of emotional response profiles of children’s person-centered emotion regulation patterns (EMRPs) across the anger
and reconciliation simulation periods
EMRPs
Emotional Adaptively regulated Under-controlled Over-controlled
Response parameters (n=58) (n=83) (n=10) F(2,148) Planned contrasts
Emotional reactivity compositesa
Anger/hostility
Angry periodc 0.19 (0.52) 0.83 (1.01) 0.10 (0.32) 11.88*** U>O, U>AR
Reconciliation periodc 0.18 (0.56) 0.67 (1.08) 0.00 (0.00) 6.71** U>O, U>AR
Fear/support seeking
Angry period 5.93 (3.70) 8.59 (4.87) 2.70 (2.00) 12.22*** U>O, U>AR, AR>O
Reconciliation period 2.55 (1.93) 6.62 (4.98) 1.60 (1.90) 21.69*** U>O, U>AR
High distress
Angry periodc 0.24 (0.52) 0.68 (0.94) 0.00 (0.00) 7.44** U>O, U>AR
Reconciliation period 0.17 (0.83) 0.79 (1.32) 0.20 (0.63) 5.73** U>AR
Active concern
Angry period 2.12 (2.16) 3.16 (2.77) 0.00 (0.00) 8.81*** U>O, U>AR, AR>O
Reconciliation period 0.49 (1.32) 0.92 (1.48) 0.00 (0.00) 3.00+ U>O, U>AR
Avoidance
Angry periodc 0.27 (0.50) 0.33 (0.57) 0.25 (0.73) .22
Reconciliation periodc 0.14 (0.47) 0.33 (0.61) 0.39 (0.63) 2.36+ U>AR
Latency to onsetb c 0.13 (0.37) 0.14 (0.44) 1.21 (1.58) 17.37*** U<O, AR<O
Rise time to peak arousalb 0.70 (1.16) 1.95 (3.01) 4.20 (5.41) 8.67*** U<O, AR<U, AR<O
Verbal regulation of emotiona
Angry period 1.67 (1.37) 2.35 (1.90) 0.00 (0.00) 10.26*** U>O, U>AR, AR>O
Reconciliation period 0.19 (0.48) 0.69 (0.97) 0.00 (0.00) 8.65*** U>O, U>AR
AR adaptively regulated EMRPs, U undercontrolled EMRPs, O overcontrolled EMRPs.
a
Values represent mean frequencies (SDs).
b
Values represent mean number of 30-second intervals (SDs).
c
Square root transformed variables due to non-normal univariate distributions.
+
p<0.10, *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

11. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 695
to restrict emotion expression in response to the angry distribution of children of mothers with a history of
exchange. These youngsters also minimized the importance depression at the Initial assessment period and children of
of the mother in helping to modulate emotional arousal, as nondepressed mothers across the two EMRP groups
indicated by their failure to verbally process the stressful (adaptively regulated and dysregulated) was examined. A
event with caregivers. Unlike their adaptively regulated and significantly higher percentage of dysregulated EMRPs was
undercontrolled peers, overcontrolled children did not found in children of mothers with early-occurring Initial
exhibit other-directed regulatory strategies and tended to depression (73.1%) as compared to children of nondepressed
turn inward in response to the stressful event. comparisons (43.1%), χ2(1)=13.58, p<0.001, rΦ =0.30.
The emotional response profiles of each of the three Next, the effect of recurrent maternal depression (i.e.,
EMRPs were consistent with those reported in previous depression that occurred across multiple assessment peri-
investigations (Cummings 1987; El-Sheikh et al. 1989; ods) on children’s EMRPs was then examined. Children in
Maughan and Cicchetti 2002). Due to the low frequency of the recurrent versus non-recurrent maternal depression
children displaying overcontrolled EMRPs (n=10), under- groups and youngsters in the nondepressed comparison
controlled and overcontrolled youngsters were combined group were compared. 74.2% of the recurrent group and
into a dysregulated EMRP group (similar results were 72.6% of the non-recurrent group had dysregulated
found with or without combining the two groups). Based EMRPs, contrasting with 43.1% of the nondepressed group.
on this grouping, 93 (61.6%) of the children in the total Thus no differential effect related to recurrent depression
sample displayed dysregulated EMRPs and 58 (38.4 %) was observed [recurrent versus non-recurrent maternal
exhibited adaptively regulated patterns. This adaptively depression, χ2(1)<1, p=0.87, rΦ =0.01].
regulated/dysregulated EMRP designation was used in all
subsequent analyses. Maternal Depression and Children’s Later Social
Self-Perceptions
Correlations among Study Variables
The effect of maternal depression at the Initial assessment
Correlations among key study variables at the Initial, ages period on children’s social self-perceptions at age 5 was
3, 4, and 5 assessment periods are summarized in Table 4. examined. t tests were conducted and, as hypothesized,
children in the Initial maternal depression group had lower
Maternal Depression and Children’s EMRPs self-report ratings of perceived competence at age 5 (M=
−0.06, SD=0.43) than did children in the nondepressed
As shown in Table 4, Initial maternal depression was comparison group (M=0.11, SD=0.32), t (135)=2.47, p<
significantly correlated with children’s age 4 dysregulated 0.05, d=0.44. Initial maternal depression, however, was
EMRPs. Maternal depression at ages 3 and 4, however, was unrelated to child social acceptance ratings, t (135)<1, n.s.,
unrelated to children’s dysregulated emotion patterns. To d=0.01. Also, ages 3, 4, and 5 maternal depression were
assess the relation between early-occurring maternal de- not significantly correlated with either of the age 5 child
pression and dysregulated EMRPs in more detail, the social self-perception ratings.
Table 4 Correlation matrix of study variables
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Initial
1. Maternal Depression –
Age 3
2. Maternal Depression 0.35*** –
3. Maternal Negativity −0.08 −0.01 –
Age 4
4. Maternal Depression 0.18* 0.36*** −0.10
5. Dysregulated EMRPs 0.30*** 0.13 0.06 −0.03 –
Age 5
6. Maternal Depression 0.29** 0.40*** −0.07 0.39*** 0.01 –
7. Perceived Competencea −0.21* −0.08 0.11 0.00 −0.21* −0.03 –
8. Social Acceptance 0.00 −0.03 0.16+ 0.14 −0.18* −0.02 0.55*** –
EMRPs emotion regulation patterns.
a
Unstandardized residualized variable that controls for gender.
+
p<0.10, *p<0.05, **p<0.01,***p<0.001.

12. 696 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
Next, one-way ANOVAs with three groups (recurrent First, hierarchical logistic and linear regressions were
depression, nonrecurrent depression, and comparisons) performed to examine the moderating role of age 3 maternal
were performed to determine the extent to which recurrent negativity in the association between early-occurring
maternal depression was related to children’s socioemo- Initial maternal depression and children’s dysregulated
tional outcomes at age 5. Findings revealed that the EMRPs at age 4 and socioemotional adjustment at age 5.
recurrent nature of the mother’s depression over time was Given that the main effects of the predictors on EMRPs
not associated with age 5 child self-report ratings of and socioemotional outcomes have already been dis-
perceived competence or social acceptance (F (2, 134)=3.04, cussed, only the results of the interaction terms are
n.s.; F (2, 134)<1, n.s., respectively). reported. In each analysis, the outcome variable was
Findings suggest that the effects of early-occurring Time regressed onto the predictor and moderator variables at
1 maternal depression on children’s later perceived compe- step 1 and then onto the interaction term at step 2.
tence do not cumulate over time, such that depression Findings revealed that the interaction of early-occurring
beyond 21 months does not provide a significant increment Initial maternal depression and age 3 maternal negativity
in the prediction of 5-year-old perceived competence scores. in predicting children’s dysregulated emotion patterns
was marginally significant [Â=0.08, Wald statistic F (1,
Maternal Negativity and its Relation to Maternal 148)=3.44, p<0.07, Cohen’s d=0.15], contributing only
Depression and Children’s EMRPs and Socioemotional 2% of the variance to R2 (ΔR2 =0.02).
Outcomes With respect to children’s socioemotional outcomes, the
interaction effect of early-occurring Initial maternal depres-
Findings indicated that Initial and age 3 maternal depres- sion and age 3 maternal negativity on child self-report
sion were not associated with the negativity caregivers ratings of social acceptance at age 5 was significant [β=
provided their children at age 3 (see Table 4). Additionally, −0.47, p<0.05, Cohen’s d=0.38] and uniquely accounted
age 3 maternal negativity was unrelated to children’s age 4 for an additional 3% of the variance, ΔR2 =0.03. To clarify
dysregulated emotion patterns (r=0.06, n.s.), perceived this significant interaction effect, plots of the regression
competence scores at age 5 (r=0.11, n.s.) and only slopes at high (+1 SD) and low (−1 SD) levels of maternal
marginally associated with age 5 child social acceptance negativity for children in the Initial depressed and nonde-
ratings (r=0.16, p<0.10). pressed groups were created (see Fig. 1). The significant
interaction effect indicated that the degree of the relation-
EMRPs and Children’s Later Socioemotional Functioning ship between maternal negativity and children’s social
acceptance ratings is dependent upon whether the child
The degree to which children’s EMRPs at age 4 were had a mother with or without early-occurring depression.
related to their self-report ratings of socioemotional As illustrated in Fig. 1, the regression lines determined
adjustment 1 year later was then assessed. T tests revealed separately for high and low levels of maternal negativity
that children with adaptively regulated EMRPs at age 4 have significantly different slopes, revealing that the effects
reported higher ratings of both perceived competence (M= of maternal negativity at age 3 on children’s self-report
0.11, SD=0.36) and social acceptance (M=3.09, SD=0.52) ratings of social acceptance 2 years later are greater for
at age 5 than did youngsters classified with dysregulated
C hild S ocial-A cceptance R atings
emotion patterns (M=−0.06, SD=0.40; M=2.89, SD=0.53, 3.5
respectively), [t (135)=2.48, p<0.05, d=0.44; t (135)=2.06,
3
p<.05, d=0.37, respectively].
2.5
Developmental Pathways to Children’s Dysregulated 2
EMRPs and Socioemotional Difficulties
1.5
Next, mediating and moderating processes of the relation 1
between maternal depression and children’s emotion regu- 0.5
lation and socioemotional difficulties were investigated.
0
Given that maternal depression that occurred after the
Depressed Nondepressed
Initial assessment period and recurrent episodes of depres-
sion over time did not predict children’s EMRPs at age 4 or Low Maternal Negativity (-1SD) High Maternal Negativity (+SD)
their socioemotional adjustment at age 5, maternal depres- Fig. 1 Significant moderating effect of age 3 maternal negativity on
sion at the Initial evaluation (i.e., early-occurring maternal the relation between initial maternal depression and child self-report
depression) served as the depression predictor variable. ratings of social acceptance at age 5

13. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 697
early-occurring Initial depressed offspring than youngsters with outcome variables. To test the third and final condition
of nondepressed comparisons. Maternal negativity, however, of mediation (i.e., when predictor and mediator variables
failed to moderate the association between Initial maternal are evaluated together, the unique effect of the predictor
depression and children’s perceived competence scores at variable on the outcome variable is reduced or eliminated,
age 5 [β=0.07, p=0.74, Cohen’s d=0.06]. while the significant effect if the mediator remains), SEM
Next, the mediational role of dysregulated EMRPs in the techniques using Amos (Analysis of Moment Structures)
association between early-occurring Initial maternal depres- 4.0 software were utilized (Arbuckle and Wothke 1999).
sion and age 5 socioemotional outcomes was examined. The maximum likelihood (ML) method was used to
Guided by the procedures outlined by Baron and Kenny estimate model parameters.
(1986), study findings thus far have met two out of the To determine mediation, model building techniques (Kline
three necessary conditions of mediation: (1) predictor 1998) were used to compare two hierarchically nested path
variable (i.e., Initial maternal depression) must account for models, the direct effects model and the mediation model.
significant variance in mediator (i.e., dysregulated EMRPs) The chi-square difference statistic (χ2 difference) was used
and outcome (i.e., child socioemotional problems) variables to assess the significance of the improvement in fit with the
and (2) mediator variable must be significantly associated addition of the mediation path(s). To further assess whether
Fig. 2 Direct effects model
with Initial maternal depression
Initial Age 4 Age 5
as a predictor of dysregulated
EMRPs at age 4 and perceived
(a) Direct Effects Model
competence and social accep- Perceived
tance scores at age 5 (a). Medi- Competencea
ational/indirect model with (R2 = .05)
initial depression indirectly pre- -.16 (-.13)+
dicting child social acceptance
-.17 (-.13)+
ratings through its association Maternal Dysregulated
with dysregulated EMRPs (b) Depression EMRPs
-.19 (-.21)*
.06 (.06)
Social
Acceptance
(R2 = .04)
χ 2 (3) = 62.83***
NFI = .92
CFI = .93
RMSEA = .09
(b) Mediation/Indirect Model
Perceived
Competencea
(R2 = .07)
-.16 (-.13)+ -.16 (-.13)+
Maternal Dysregulated
Depression .30 (.30)* EMRPs
(R2 = .09)
.06 (.06) -.19 (-.21)*
Social
Acceptance
(R2 = .03)
χ 2 (1) = 48.67***
NFI = .94
CFI = .94
RMSEA = .08
Note. EMRPs = emotion regulation patterns; Standardized coefficients are outside brackets and unstandardized coefficients are inside brackets;
Significance levels were determined by the critical ratios of the unstandardized coefficients; + p < .10. * p < .05; *** p < .001; a = Unstandardized
residualized variable that controls for gender

14. 698 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
or not mediation is present, the Sobel test (Sobel 1982) was (Cummings 1987; Davies and Forman 2002; Zahn-Waxler
performed to assess whether the indirect effect of the et al. 1990a, b). Findings suggest that infancy and early
predictor variable on the outcome variable via the mediator toddlerhood are particularly vulnerable periods of develop-
was significantly different from zero. Given that the effects ment for the long term effects of maternal depression on
of the predictors in the direct effects models have been children’s capacity to regulate emotion in the preschool
discussed in prior sections of this report, only the results of years.
the mediational models and model comparisons are reported Contrary to study hypotheses, neither depressive episodes
for the sake of parsimony. beyond the 21 month period, nor the recurrence of the mother’s
The mediating role of dysregulated EMRPs in the depression, contributed to predicting children’s emotion
relation between early-occurring Initial maternal depression regulation abilities at age 4 years. These findings were not
and children’s age 5 self-reported ratings of perceived entirely surprising given that the literature addressing the
competence was examined. Children’s ratings of social association between recurrent maternal depression and child
acceptance also were included in the model to examine the affective responses has been somewhat inconsistent (Campbell
indirect effects of maternal depression on social acceptance et al. 1995; Moore et al. 2001). Variability across inves-
through its association with children’s dysregulated tigations in how recurrent depression is operationalized, the
EMRPs. Dysregulated EMRPs could not serve as a timing of the mother’s depression over the course of the
mediator because maternal depression failed to predict child’s development, and the severity of symptoms assessed
social acceptance in prior analyses. The direct effects model (clinical versus subclinical levels of depression) may contrib-
is displayed in Fig. 2a. The mediation/indirect model was ute to the lack of uniformity in findings. Additionally, studies
then evaluated, whereby the path from Initial maternal that examine recurrent or chronic depression, including the
depression to children’s dysregulated EMRPs was free to present investigation, often fail to discern whether the
vary. Findings revealed that the mediation/indirect model mother’s depression was persistent and uninterrupted by
yielded a significantly better fit to the data than did the periods of healthy adjustment. Interruptions in the course of
direct effects model, χ2 difference = 14.16, p < 0.001. the mother’s illness may provide greater opportunity for
Results supported the indirect effect of early-occurring positive parent–child interactions and thereby promote
Initial maternal depression on children’s ratings of social healthy child adjustment. Consequently, it is not yet possible
acceptance at age 5 through its association with age 4 to draw a clear conclusion regarding the effects of chronic
dysregulated emotion patterns. The Sobel test was per- depression in caregivers on children’s emotion regulation
formed to determine the significance of the dysregulated development.
EMRP mediation effect and a marginally significant effect Also in accordance with the extant maternal depression
emerged (critical ratio=−1.62, p=0.096). literature (Campbell et al. 2004; Cicchetti and Toth 1995),
child socioemotional functioning was related to maternal
depression history. Specifically, the children of mothers
Discussion with early-occurring depression reported lower ratings of
perceived competence at 5 years of age than did the
The findings presented in this investigation increase the youngsters of healthy caregivers. Consistent with EMRP
understanding of the emotional sequelae of being reared by a findings, major depressive episodes that occurred during
depressed mother, explicate the associations between specific the late toddler and early preschool periods (i.e., at the ages
correlates of maternal depression (i.e., maternal negativity) and 3, 4, and 5 assessments) and the recurrence of the mother’s
child outcomes, and provide insight into the processes through depression over time did not predict child social self-
which maternal depression confers risk on offspring. Each of perceptions at age 5 years.
the study’s main findings are examined in turn. Findings, thus far, demonstrate the salience of early-
As predicted, early-occurring maternal depression (i.e., occurring maternal depression during the infancy and early
depression that occurred during the first 21 months of the toddler periods, as compared to the recurrence of depres-
child’s life) was related to emotion regulation development sion later on in development, on children’s emotion
at 4 years of age. Specifically, results indicated that regulation abilities and socioemotional functioning in the
approximately 73% of the children of mothers with early- preschool years. Prior investigations have found that early
occurring depression exhibited dysregulated emotion patterns episodes of maternal depression have differential effects on
in response to witnessed anger compared with only 43% of the child outcomes than subsequent depressive episodes and that
youngsters of nondepressed caregivers. The percentages of the risk to offspring of depressed caregivers persists beyond
dysregulated emotion patterns identified in the depressed and the acute stages of the mother’s early depression. Dawson et
nondepressed comparison groups were comparable to percen- al. (2003), for instance, found that the number of months
tages reported in other middle class, low risk samples mothers were depressed from birth to age 2 was a stronger

15. J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703 699
predictor of children’s socioemotional functioning at age and negative affective exchanges are likely to affect
31/2 years than depression occurring after 2 years of age. developing neural substrates and circuitry that mediate
In explaining why early exposure to maternal depression self-regulatory behaviors (Dawson et al. 1994).
can affect the development of emotion regulation capacities Lastly, it is important to keep in mind that depressed
and place children at heightened risk for future socioemo- caregivers may pass onto their offspring an increased genetic
tional difficulties, several related developmental processes risk for depression and associated regulatory deficits. As
are possible. First, infancy is marked by rapid changes in such, increased genetic loading or heritability for psychopa-
cognitive, emotional, and neurobiological development and thology may account for the emotion regulation and socio-
primary caregivers play a central role in helping children emotional difficulties identified in the children of mothers
navigate critical developmental issues that are associated with early-occurring depression (Weissman et al. 2005).
with the emergence of self-regulatory skills (e.g., caregiver- Taken together, early exposure to maternal depression is
guided regulation of emotional arousal and dyadic emotion likely to precipitate a cascade of psychosocial, neurobiolog-
regulation through the attachment relationship) (Sroufe ical, and genetic processes that interfere with the acquisition
1996). Evidence clearly indicates that depressive symptoms of adaptive self-regulatory capacities in youngsters and
in mothers exert a negative effect on emotion regulation increase children’s risk for future emotion regulation and
challenges of infancy by interfering with the mother’s ability socioemotional difficulties. The presence of several possible
to provide supportive, responsive, and consistent care that processes through which early-occurring maternal depres-
scaffolds the development of competent early regulatory sion negatively impacts children’s emotional development
processes. From an emotional security hypothesis perspec- is consistent with general systems theory’s principle of
tive, these early parenting difficulties (as well as possible equifinality (Cicchetti and Rogosch 1996; von Bertalanffy
concomitant discordant interparental relations) likely under- 1968), which proposes that a diversity of pathways can lead
mine children’s emotional security by threatening their to the same outcome. It is likely that multiple mechanisms
feelings of protection and safety within the context of the of risk are involved in the transmission of emotion regu-
parent–child relationship and overall family milieu. In- lation and socioemotional deficits from depressed mothers
creased insecurity in youngsters then often results in to their children and that these mechanisms interact in di-
heightened distressed states and emotion regulation difficul- verse and complex ways to influence the early emotional ad-
ties. Regardless of whether the mother’s depression later justment of the children of depressed caregivers (Goodman
remits, these early experiences and their effects on the child’s and Gotlib 1999).
developing emotion system are carried forward over the Study findings also supported the prediction that
course of development and incorporated into new patterns of dysregulated emotion patterns in children represent a
adaptation. From a developmental psychopathology and developmental liability, making the adaptation to later
organizational perspective, maladaptive functioning on stage-salient issues more challenging (e.g., emerging self-
earlier issues of emotion regulation in infancy increases the concept and peer relations). Specifically, children identified
probability of continued incompetence in modulating with dysregulated emotion patterns at 4 years of age
heightened affective states in later years (Cicchetti 1990). reported lower ratings of perceived competence and social
A second explanation for the salience of early-occurring acceptance 1 year later than did children with adaptively
maternal depression on children’s future emotion regulation regulated patterns. The relation between emotion regulation
and socioemotional functioning comes from growing evi- deficits and deleterious socioemotional outcomes has been
dence in the neurobiological literature regarding the biolog- well documented in the literature (Eisenberg et al. 1997).
ical processes that accompany and influence the development Contrary to study predictions, maternal depression (both
of emotion expression and regulation (Davidson et al. 2000) early and more recent episodes) did not predict maternal
and the impact of early maternal depression on these pro- negativity ratings at age 3. Despite evidence in the literature
cesses (Dawson and Ashman 2000). Accelerated changes in for the association between maternal depression and
brain structure and function occur during the first 2 years of negativity toward offspring (National Institute of Child
life (Cicchetti and Curtis 2006), making this a period of Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Child
development that is particularly vulnerable to adverse or Care Research Network 1999), the lack of a link between
atypical infant experiences. Specifically, infancy is a period these variables has been reported by others. Dawson et al.
defined by increased synaptogenesis and neuronal pruning (2003), for example, failed to find differences between
where neural patterns and connections are established, and depressed and nondepressed mothers on measures of
individual variability in neural patterning is hypothesized to maternal warmth and encouragement during mother–child
occur as a function of environmental input (Edelman 1987). tasks at age 31/2 years. Inconsistent findings in the link
Therefore, early interactions between a depressed mother between maternal depression and maternal negativity may
and her infant that are defined by noncontingent, distressing, be due to differences across studies in the severity and

16. 700 J Abnorm Child Psychol (2007) 35:685–703
timing of depressive symptoms when maternal negativity associated with children’s decreased self-perceptions of
was assessed, as well as to variability in measures of social acceptance 1 year later. Emotion dysregulation in
maternal negativity and methodologies utilized to assess children, therefore, was found to be an important interven-
negativity in caregivers. Also, child behavior was not ing process that linked early-occurring maternal depression
accounted for in the coding of maternal negativity. with subsequent negative self-concepts in youngsters.
Additionally, the failure of early maternal negativity to Findings again are consistent with the assumptions of the
predict children’s later emotion regulation abilities was emotional security hypothesis. Insensitive familial relations
unexpected in light of the strong theoretical arguments and in households with a depressed caregiver are assumed to
empirical findings that sensitive and supportive care undermine children’s feelings of emotional security. Such
provides the necessary scaffolding in the development of exchanges likely impact children’s cognitive schemas of
competent self-regulatory skills (Cicchetti et al. 1991; family relationships by increasing their negative internal
Sroufe 1996). The lack of an association between these representations of self and other and expectations of social
variables may have been due to the timing and frequency situations (Dodge 1991). When feelings of emotional
with which maternal negativity was evaluated or the lack of insecurity predominate, children are less capable of effec-
specificity in the maternal negativity variable assessed. For tively regulating heightened affective arousal in response to
example, possibly maternal negativity was not assessed at stressful events and are more vulnerable to future socio-
the appropriate time, or not often enough, over the course emotional maladjustments.
of the investigation.
Finally, the present investigation’s process-level models Study Limitations
of influence between early-occurring maternal depression
and child adjustment shed light on some of the mechanisms Although the findings of the current investigation are
through which socioemotional difficulties in depressed compelling, several limitations must be kept in mind when
offspring arise. First, results revealed that the quality of interpreting results. First, the analog procedure used to elicit
emotional support that mothers provided their 3-year-old children’s emotion regulation patterns has limited ecolog-
children altered the association between early-occurring ical validity because the procedure does not assess
maternal depression and children’s self-report ratings of developmental processes as they would occur in more
social acceptance in the preschool years. Specifically, the naturalistic settings. As such, EMRP findings from the
relationship between early exposure to depression in care- present investigation cannot be generalized across settings
givers and children’s subsequent decreased self-perceptions and situations. Nonetheless, simulated laboratory proce-
of social acceptance was more pronounced (i.e., greater) for dures are effective in isolating particular phenomena by
those depressed offspring with a history of high versus low controlling for potential confounds, resulting in the increase
maternal negativity exposure. Additionally, findings of internal validity of research designs. In fact, analog
revealed that depressed mothers who demonstrated low procedures are particularly useful when examining emotion
rates of maternal negativity had children whose later social regulation because they include contrasting conditions that
acceptance perceptions were unaffected by their exposure allow for the temporal analysis of change in children’s
to early-occurring maternal depression. Findings under- emotion functioning (Cole et al. 2004).
score the critical role caregivers play in the development Another limitation was the study’s use of only behav-
and consolidation of children’s self-concepts over time. ioral observations in determining children’s patterns of
Based on these results, one can speculate that depression in emotion regulation. Single versus multi-method approaches
caregivers during the infancy and early toddler periods to classifying EMRPs may have less validity (Davies and
interferes with children’s future acquisition of healthy self- Forman 2002). Future studies need to employ multiple and
perceptions, and exposure to negative parenting behaviors synchronized measurement strategies to assess child emo-
undermines depressed offsprings’ self-concept difficulties tion and regulatory behaviors, including physiological
even further. Additionally, more positive or sensitive assessments of emotional arousal (e.g., vagal tone and
maternal behavior may serve a protective influence on cortisol reactivity) and child self-report ratings of subjective
self-concepts of youngsters reared by a depressed caregiver. emotional experiences and cognitive responses.
Second, model findings revealed that early exposure to A few final limitations need to be addressed. First, the
maternal depression predicted decreased child self-reported study’s sample is composed almost exclusively of middle
ratings of social acceptance at 5 years of age through its income families and includes very few minorities. Thus the
association with dysregulated emotion patterns rather than generalizability of findings to non-middle SES families and
directly. Specifically, early-occurring maternal depression ethnic minorities is not known. Secondly, other child and
was related to dysregulated emotion patterns in children at family variables not assessed in the present investigation
4 years of age. Dysregulated emotion patterns, in turn, were undoubtedly have an important effect on children’s emo-