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It is well-established that maternal depression is significantly related to internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems and psychopathology in general. However, research suggests maternal depression does not account for all the variance of these outcomes and that other family contextual factors should be investigated. The role of fathers beyond their simple presence or absence is one factor that needs to be further investigated in the context of maternal depression. The proposed study used prospective and cross-sectional analyses to examine father effects (i.e., paternal depression, alcohol use, involvement, and familism) on youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms within the context of maternal depression. The sample consisted of 405 Mexican-American families who had a student in middle school. Data were collected when the students were in 7th and 10th grade. Results from path analyses revealed that maternal depression significantly predicted concurrent youth internalizing symptoms in 7th and 10th grade and externalizing symptoms in 10th grade. In contrast, paternal depression was not related to adolescent symptomatology at either time point, nor was paternal alcoholism, and analyses failed to support moderating effects for any of the paternal variables. However, paternal involvement (father-report) uniquely predicted youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms over and above maternal depression in 7th grade. Youth report of paternal involvement uniquely predicted both internalizing and externalizing in 7th and 10th grade. Paternal familism uniquely predicted youth externalizing symptoms in 7th grade. The present findings support that maternal depression, but not paternal depression, is associated with concurrent levels of youth symptomatology in adolescence. The study did not support that fathers adjustment moderated (exacerbate or buffer) maternal depression effects. However, paternal involvement and paternal familism showed compensatory effects on youth symptomatology in concurrent analyses.
ContributorsMontano, Zorash (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy A. (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Roosa, Mark (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Rapidly growing research on mothers’ perinatal depression, has demonstrated significant links among mothers’ depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the first year postpartum, their parenting, and multiple aspects of children’s development. This prospective longitudinal study contributes to research on mothers’ perinatal depression by examining the mechanisms by which maternal perinatal depression is associated with children’s adjustment early in development in a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (Mage at Wave 1 = 16.80, SD = 1.0) and their children (58% boys). I expected that adolescent mothers’ negative parenting behaviors would mediate the associations between mothers’ perinatal depressive symptoms and three child outcomes: internalizing symptoms, externalizing behaviors, and cognitive ability. I further hypothesized that mothers’ perceived social support from their family would modify the extent to which mothers’ perinatal depressive symptoms negatively impact their parenting behaviors and their children’s developmental outcomes. Mothers reported on their own depressive symptoms, their perceived social support from their family and their children’s internalizing and externalizing problems; negative parenting was assessed using observational methods; and children’s cognitive ability was assessed using standardized developmental assessments. In this sample, adolescent mothers’ negative parenting behaviors did not significantly mediate the relations between mothers’ perinatal depression and children’s developmental outcomes. Further, perceived social support did not significantly buffer the effects of mothers’ perinatal depression on mothers’ negative parenting or children’s developmental outcomes. However, in line with hypotheses, results indicated that mothers’ prenatal depression had a wider impact on children’s adjustment outcomes than mothers’ postpartum depression, which appeared more specific to children’s internalizing problems. Discussion focuses on implications for intervention addressing adolescent mothers’ perinatal depression, as well as the need to continue to explore protective factors that have the potential to disrupt the negative intergenerational transmission of risks.
ContributorsSeay, Danielle M (Author) / Elam, Kit (Thesis advisor) / Iida, Masumi (Thesis advisor) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Wilkens, Natalie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
We examined the relations between maternal depression, discipline practices, and toddler mental health outcomes, specifically competence and total problem behavior. Ethnicity was considered as a moderator in all analyses. For the first time, ethnicity was considered as a moderator of the heritability of toddler competence and total problem behavior. The data came from the Arizona Twin Project. A subsample containing only Caucasian (66%) and Hispanic (34%; 87% of Mexican descent) participants was used. Primary caregivers (>95% mothers) reported on levels of maternal depression, discipline practices, and their twins' competency and problem behaviors. It was hypothesized that maternal depression would be associated with less competency and more problem behaviors in toddlers; inductive discipline practices would be associated with higher competency and fewer problem behaviors; and punitive discipline practices would be associated with lower competency and more problem behaviors. Ethnicity was predicted to moderate only the relation between discipline practices and toddler mental health. Consistent with predictions, maternal depression predicted less competency and more problem behaviors, and inductive discipline predicted higher competency and fewer problem behaviors, while punitive discipline predicted lower competency and more problem behaviors. Ethnicity moderated the relation between maternal depression at 12 months and total problem behaviors. The heritability of competence and total problem behavior varied across the Caucasian and Hispanic samples.
ContributorsChon, Sarah Maria (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Bradley, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Early childhood environment is critical to subsequent physical health in children and is influenced by children's primary caregivers \u2014 typically mothers. Maternal stress, one aspect of a child's environment, may shape the functioning of the child's physiological stress response system, which has been linked to later health outcomes, including pain. The current study evaluated whether: 1) early maternal stress, defined as maternal depressive symptoms and low socio-economic status, predicts later child pain; 2) early maternal stress relates to later child daily cortisol output; and 3) child's cortisol output across the day mediates the relation between early maternal stress and child pain. Maternal stress was assessed via questionnaires at twin age 12-months. At twin age seven years, twins' salivary cortisol was collected three times per day for three days. At twin age nine years, twins rated how often they experienced stomach, headache, and back pain weekly or more frequently. Results of multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses showed that early maternal stress did not predict later children's daily cortisol output or extent of child pain. Therefore, findings were inconsistent with the proposed mediation model. However, there was a marginally significant negative relation between child daily cortisol output and later extent of child pain. Current findings suggest that functioning of the stress response system, reflected in cortisol output, may have implications for the development of child pain. Future work evaluating intensely stressful early environments may provide clues about the links between a child's early environment and the development of his/her stress response system.
ContributorsRoth, Winter Rayne Nicole (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis director) / Miadich, Samantha (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
Dysregulated cortisol has been linked to a variety of adverse physical and psychological consequences. Stressors in the childhood family environment can influence cortisol activity throughout development. For example, research has shown that both infants and children of depressed mothers exhibit altered levels of cortisol compared to infants and children of non-depressed mothers. It is unclear, however, whether exposure to maternal depression in childhood and adolescence is related to cortisol activity at later stages of development. The current study examined the longitudinal relation between maternal depressive symptoms during late childhood (9-12 years old) and adolescence (15-19 years old) and cortisol activity in offspring in young adulthood (24- 28 years old) in a sample of 40 young adults and their mothers. Maternal depressive symptoms were prospectively assessed at four time points across the 15 year study. Cortisol samples were collected from young adult offspring at the final time point. Findings revealed that higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms during late childhood were associated with lower total cortisol output in young adulthood. Results suggest that attenuated cortisol levels, which put these young adults at risk for a variety of stress-related physical and psychological illnesses, may be a long-term consequence of exposure to maternal depression,. Depressive symptoms in mothers during their child's adolescence, however, did not relate to cortisol output. These findings suggest a sensitive period in late childhood during which the development of HPA activity may be susceptible to the environmental stressor of maternal depression.
ContributorsMahrer, Nicole Eva (Author) / Wolchik, Sharlene (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The goal of this thesis is to better understand the outcomes of both treated and untreated maternal depression on fetal development and birth defects. We focus on a class of antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We hope to gain insight into how these effects might carry on into childhood and adolescent years. While research shows there are potentially significant consequences for the fetus in both treated and untreated scenarios, it remains unclear whether depression itself or SSRIs play the larger role in the outcomes of children born from these women. We begin with a general history of depression and the introduction of SSRIs, followed by a review of the physiology of depression and SSRI treatment. We then narrow our focus to the history of maternal depression, SSRI usage in pregnant women, and potential risk factors. Following this, we analyze studies on the effects of depression and SSRI usage on the fetus and at birth, paying careful attention to the cortisol pathway that results from depression itself and the biochemical effects that SSRIs have on embryogenesis and fetal development. While there is limited research on the long-term effects of fetal exposure to SSRI-treated and untreated maternal depression, one of the aims of this thesis is to understand the potential risks for children throughout their developmental years and into adolescence. Therefore, we also researched the effects of depression and SSRI use in children and adolescents themselves, comparing this information to the effects of both SSRI-treated and untreated maternal depression. We believe there is sufficient evidence of causal connections involving cortisol (in untreated depression) and SSRIs (in pharmacologically treated depression) to warrant caution regarding the use of SSRIs in a clinical setting. We suggest alternative treatments for depression such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which have been shown to be effective, and which have very little chance for harm. Notably, such treatments can be of real benefit regardless of the underlying biological, psychological, and social causes of depression. Finally, we conclude by suggesting some preventative treatments for maternal depression. While we do not believe the use of SSRIs needs to be completely avoided in the case of maternal depression, we believe that better practitioner education in preventing depression could go a long way in making them unnecessary in most cases.
ContributorsMyers, Sydney (Author) / Unarker, Saagar (Co-author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Affolter, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The goal of this thesis is to better understand the outcomes of both treated and untreated maternal depression on fetal development and birth defects. We focus on a class of antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We hope to gain insight into how these effects might carry on into childhood and adolescent years. While research shows there are potentially significant consequences for the fetus in both treated and untreated scenarios, it remains unclear whether depression itself or SSRIs play the larger role in the outcomes of children born from these women.
We begin with a general history of depression and the introduction of SSRIs, followed by a review of the physiology of depression and SSRI treatment. We then narrow our focus to the history of maternal depression, SSRI usage in pregnant women, and potential risk factors. Following this, we analyze studies on the effects of depression and SSRI usage on the fetus and at birth, paying careful attention to the cortisol pathway that results from depression itself and the biochemical effects that SSRIs have on embryogenesis and fetal development. While there is limited research on the long-term effects of fetal exposure to SSRI-treated and untreated maternal depression, one of the aims of this thesis is to understand the potential risks for children throughout their developmental years and into adolescence. Therefore, we also researched the effects of depression and SSRI use in children and adolescents themselves, comparing this information to the effects of both SSRI-treated and untreated maternal depression.
We believe there is sufficient evidence of causal connections involving cortisol (in untreated depression) and SSRIs (in pharmacologically treated depression) to warrant caution regarding the use of SSRIs in a clinical setting. We suggest alternative treatments for depression such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which have been shown to be effective, and which have very little chance for harm. Notably, such treatments can be of real benefit regardless of the underlying biological, psychological, and social causes of depression. Finally, we conclude by suggesting some preventative treatments for maternal depression. While we do not believe the use of SSRIs needs to be completely avoided in the case of maternal depression, we believe that better practitioner education in preventing depression could go a long way in making them unnecessary in most cases.
ContributorsUnarker, Saagar (Author) / Myers, Sydney (Co-author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Affolter, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2022-05