Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Distancing And Hostility As Mediators Of Parental Depression And Child Depression, Ashley Kerns, Curtis Pearson, Jessica Hawkins, William Dickerson

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Purpose: To identify parenting behaviors through which parental depression affects children’s depression Background: Parental depression increases the risk for depression in children (Turner, 2008; Goodman & Gotlib, 2002). Depressed parents are likely to use coercion (Bor & Sanders, 2004)& have decreased social involvement (Dix & Meunier, 2009). When depressed, men are more likely to exhibit irritability and women are more likely to withdraw. Such parental behaviors increase children’s risk (Elgar et.al, 2007) Hypotheses: 1) Mother’s distancing behavior during an observational task will mediate the relationship between mother’s depression and child’s depression 2) Father’s hostile behavior during an observational task will …