Dorothea Kluczniok1, Katja Boedeker2, Anna Fuchs3, Catherine Hindi Attar1, Thomas Fydrich4, Daniel Fuehrer2, Katja Dittrich1, Corinna Reck5, Sibylle Winter2, Andreas Heinz1, Sabine C Herpertz6, Romuald Brunner3, Felix Bermpohl1. 1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. 2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Virchow, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. 3. Section for Disorders of Personality Development, Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. 4. Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany. 5. Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany. 6. Department for General Psychiatry, Center of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The association between maternal depression and adverse outcomes in children is well established. Similar links have been found for maternal childhood abuse. One proposed pathway of risk transmission is reduced maternal emotional availability. Our aim was to investigate whether sensitive parenting is impaired in mothers with depression in remission, and whether among these mothers childhood abuse has an additional impact. METHODS: The mother-child interaction of 188 dyads was assessed during a play situation using the Emotional Availability Scales, which measure the overall affective quality of the interaction: maternal sensitivity, structuring, nonhostility, and nonintrusiveness. Mothers with depression in remission were compared to healthy mothers. Children were between 5 and 12 years old. Group differences and impact of additional childhood abuse were analyzed by one-factorial analyses of covariance and planned contrasts. RESULTS: Mothers with depression in remission showed less emotional availability during mother-child interaction compared to healthy control mothers. Specifically, they were less sensitive and, at trend-level, less structuring and more hostile. Among these mothers, we found an additional effect of severe maternal childhood abuse on maternal sensitivity: Mothers with depression in remission and a history of severe childhood abuse were less sensitive than remitted mothers without childhood abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that depression impacts on maternal emotional availability during remission, which might represent a trait characteristic of depression. Mothers with depression in remission and additional severe childhood abuse were particularly affected. These findings may contribute to the understanding of children's vulnerability to develop a depressive disorder themselves.
BACKGROUND: The association between maternal depression and adverse outcomes in children is well established. Similar links have been found for maternal childhood abuse. One proposed pathway of risk transmission is reduced maternal emotional availability. Our aim was to investigate whether sensitive parenting is impaired in mothers with depression in remission, and whether among these mothers childhood abuse has an additional impact. METHODS: The mother-child interaction of 188 dyads was assessed during a play situation using the Emotional Availability Scales, which measure the overall affective quality of the interaction: maternal sensitivity, structuring, nonhostility, and nonintrusiveness. Mothers with depression in remission were compared to healthy mothers. Children were between 5 and 12 years old. Group differences and impact of additional childhood abuse were analyzed by one-factorial analyses of covariance and planned contrasts. RESULTS: Mothers with depression in remission showed less emotional availability during mother-child interaction compared to healthy control mothers. Specifically, they were less sensitive and, at trend-level, less structuring and more hostile. Among these mothers, we found an additional effect of severe maternal childhood abuse on maternal sensitivity: Mothers with depression in remission and a history of severe childhood abuse were less sensitive than remitted mothers without childhood abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that depression impacts on maternal emotional availability during remission, which might represent a trait characteristic of depression. Mothers with depression in remission and additional severe childhood abuse were particularly affected. These findings may contribute to the understanding of children's vulnerability to develop a depressive disorder themselves.
Authors: Katja Bödeker; Anna Fuchs; Daniel Führer; Dorothea Kluczniok; Katja Dittrich; Corinna Reichl; Corinna Reck; Michael Kaess; Catherine Hindi Attar; Eva Möhler; Corinne Neukel; Anna-Lena Bierbaum; Anna-Lena Zietlow; Charlotte Jaite; Ulrike Lehmkuhl; Sibylle Maria Winter; Sabine Herpertz; Romuald Brunner; Felix Bermpohl; Franz Resch Journal: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev Date: 2019-04
Authors: Neda Senehi; Marjo Flykt; Zeynep Biringen; Mark L Laudenslager; Sarah Enos Watamura; Brady A Garrett; Terrence K Kominsky; Hannah E Wurster; Michelle Sarche Journal: Prev Sci Date: 2021-11-13