Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Maternal Emotional Distress, Abuse Risk, And Children’S Symptoms: Child Gender As A Moderator Of Parent Sensitivity As A Mediator, Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck, Rae Thomas, Kym Hendrickson, Elbina Avdagic, Haley Webb, Leanne Mcgregor

Rae Thomas

Mothers' distress is a correlate of their children's elevated behaviour problems and symptoms. Parenting practices have been shown to mediate these associations, but few studies have observed parenting or focused on parents at risk of child abuse. In this study of 269 high-risk mothers and their young children (M?=?4.2?years), structural equation modelling was used to test associations between mothers' distress and child externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Associations were expected to be partly indirect via mothers' observed low sensitivity, and child gender was expected to moderate associations. Also, mothers' child abuse risk was examined as a unique correlate of sensitivity and …