ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EARLY MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOM TRAJECTORIES AND TODDLERS' FELT SECURITY AT 18 MONTHS: ARE BOYS AND GIRLS AT DIFFERENTIAL RISK?. Issue 1 (2nd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Beeghly, Marjorie; Partridge, Ty; Tronick, Ed; Muzik, Maria; Rahimian Mashhadi, Mahya; Boeve, Jordan L.; Irwin, Jessica L.
• Other Names: Fitzgerald Hiram E. guestEditor.; Golding Paul guestEditor.; McKinney Marvin guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Infant mental health journal. Volume 38:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 53
• Page End: 67
• Publication Date: 2017-01-02
• Subjects: sex differences -- maternal depressive symptom trajectories -- toddler felt attachment security -- maternal social support -- African American -- diferencias de sexo -- trayectorias de síntomas depresivos maternos -- seguridad afectiva sentida por el infante -- apoyo social materno -- afro‐americano -- différences entre les sexes -- trajectoires de symptômes dépressifs maternels -- sécurit'e de l'attachement perçue par le jeune enfant -- soutien social maternel -- noir américain -- Geschlechtsunterschiede -- Trajektorien mütterlicher depressiver Symptome -- gefühlte Bindungssicherheit von Kleinkindern -- mütterliche soziale Unterstützung -- Afroamerikaner -- 性差 -- 母親の抑鬱症状の軌跡 -- 幼児が感じる愛着の安定性 -- 母親の社会的支援 -- アフリカ系アメリカ人 -- 性別差異 -- 產婦抑鬱症狀軌跡 -- 幼兒依附安全感 -- 產婦社會支持 -- 非裔美國人; Infant psychiatry -- Periodicals; Infant psychology -- Periodicals; 618.9289
• DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21617
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-9641

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The goal of this study was to evaluate whether there are sex differences in children's vulnerability to caregiving risk, as indexed by trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms assessed from 2 to 18 months' postpartum, and children's rated attachment security in toddlerhood, adjusting for maternal social support and demographic risk. Analyses utilized longitudinal data collected for 182 African American mother–child dyads from economically diverse backgrounds. Participants were recruited at the time of the child's birth and followed to 18 months' postpartum. Results of conditional latent growth models indicated that an increasing rate of change in level of maternal depressive symptoms over time negatively predicted toddlers' felt attachment security. Higher social support was associated with decreasing levels of maternal depressive symptoms over time whereas higher demographic risk was associated with increasing levels of maternal depressive symptoms. A subsequent multigroup conditional latent growth model revealed that child sex moderated these associations. For male (but not female) children, a rapid increase in maternal depressive symptoms was associated with lower felt attachment security at 18 months. These findings suggest that boys, as compared to girls, may be more vulnerable to early caregiving risks such as maternal depression, with negative consequences for mother–child attachment security in toddlerhood.