Current maternal depression moderates the relation between critical expressed emotion in mothers and depressive symptoms in their adolescent daughters. Issue 2 (30th June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mellick, William; Kalpakci, Allison; Sharp, Carla
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 227:Issue 2/3(2015)
• Page Start: 224
• Page End: 229
• Publication Date: 2015-06-30
• Subjects: Adolescence -- Depressed -- Disorder -- Girls -- Intergenerational -- Major -- Transmission; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.03.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-1781

Abstract

Abstract: Prior studies have examined critical expressed emotion (EE-Crit) in mothers in the intergenerational transmission of depression. However, the potential moderating effect of maternal depression diagnostic status in relation to EE-Crit and youth depressive symptoms has yet to be determined. A total of N =121 biological mother/daughter dyads that differed in maternal depression diagnostic status were recruited for the present study: (1) currently depressed mothers (current depression, n =29); (2) formerly depressed mothers (past depression, n =39); and (3) mothers free from any psychiatric history (healthy controls, n= 53). Mothers were administered structured clinical interviews and completed self-report measures of EE-Crit and psychopathology, and daughters self-reported depressive symptoms. Results indicated no significant group differences in EE-Crit; however, current maternal depression status moderated EE-Crit such that the magnitude of the relation between EE-Crit and adolescent depressive symptoms was significantly greater in daughters of currently depressed mothers. These findings highlight the importance of considering current maternal depression, rather than a history of maternal depression, in relation to EE-Crit and adolescent depressive symptoms, providing impetus for future investigations. Highlights: High critical expressed emotion in mothers predicts depression in their children. A high-risk design was used to examine maternal depression status as a moderator. Current, but not past, maternal depression moderated critical expressed emotion. Current maternal depression influences the effect of critical expressed emotion.