Nana Adwoa Sam

Literature Review
ENGH 302-H30

Relationship between Parental Depression and Child Behavior

Children are a direct reflection of their parents. Parents are a big influence on their child’s

behavior and how they interact with the world around them. Children mirror their parent’s

gestures, mannerisms and more. Parental depression can wreak havoc in any household, which

can lead to poor communication, family conflicts, causing emotional issues and can be a

predictor of depression in children.

Today we see and hear about depression among youth increasing. If a child’s

development is weakened, it can possibly affect how they interact with society. Findings suggest

that depressed parents have more family conflicts and their children exhibit higher levels of

anger, sensitivity and lower attention (Gagne, Spann, Prater, 2013). Another study had similar

findings when children of depressed parents played with their peers (Hipwell., & Stein, 2005)

This literature review will discuss paternal/maternal depression and its effects on

children’s behavior, socioeconomic status, PTSD and its role in child behavior and

communication styles among depressed couples. It is important that we continue to research

these topics to further our understanding and to also help clinicians perform better assessments

and give clients proper treatments.

Depressed parents are of characterized as withdrawn, often fatigued, sad, lack interest in

daily activities. Cummings et al., (2013) focused their study on parental depression and its effect

on children’s sense of emotional security and internalization symptoms. They found that there is

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a significant relationship between depressive parents and their children’s emotional

development. Young children model their behavior after their parents, so if both parents exhibit

negative emotional expressiveness, it reflects on their children. Children in highly emotional

environment are susceptible in developing anxiety and depression.

This study is important, because if more parents are made aware of their emotional

responses or expressions, it would greatly reduce their child’s negative internalizations. It also

highlights the need for improvement with communications among families with depressive

members.

Children are quite vulnerable, and by age of 2 they begin the “terrible two” stage where

they challenge authority and their personality and character begin to take shape. This

oppositional behavior may arouse parental hostility and insensitivity among depressed parents.

Dougherty et al (2013). hypothesized that early exposure to parental depression in

children as young as two, may impact their behavior and response to stress. Their findings

suggest that children whose parents where depressed and who also exhibited hostile behaviors,

developed elevated cortisol levels in response to stressors. In concordance with previous

research, Dougherty found that stress sensitivity may leave these high-risk children more

exposed to depression and other negative health consequences later in life.

However, further research is needed in order to understand the direction of the effects, Is

the child’s oppositional behavior responsible for the parent’s hostility? Or is the parent’s hostility

responsible for the child’s defiance? Based on this study, a longitudinal study is necessary to

monitor the effects even after the more sensitive preschool years.

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Boys and girls tend to respond differently when they encounter conflicts with peers.

Hipwell et al, 2005, sought to uncover the links between postnatal depression and child peer

conflicts. Girls, age 5 whose mothers suffered from depression exhibited verbal aggression when

playing with friends. Boys, age 5 who were exposed to recent maternal depression showed more

physical aggression when playing with peers. All the boys in this study showed a willingness to

help and share, compared to 55% of the girls. According to the same study, children from a

lower social class, whose parents co-operated poorly showed more physical aggression.

The same was found in another study (Sullivan & Forehand, 2019). Socioeconomic status

coupled with a depressive parent could be an indicator of a child’s behavior. The authors

hypothesized that parental depression along with low socioeconomic status will negatively affect

a child’s ability to internalize and externalize. Interestingly, these two factors will affect each

gender differently, with males externalize their problems while females internalized their

problems. As we see in Conners-Burrow’s (2015) study below. As we have seen, depression

knows no boundaries. So, it comes as no surprise that even children in high socioeconomic status

can also experience maladaptive behaviors

As children develop and change, so do their roles. When a parent suffers from

depression, it changes the dynamic of the home, which sometimes leaves the child to take on the

role of caretaker. Van Parys & Rober, (2013) sought to look at the effects of parentification of

children whose parents were recently hospitalized for depression. In concordance with previous

research, the authors hypothesized that, to not distress or relieve their parents, they would

pretend that everything is fine. It is evident that when children try to help their depressed parent,

they are truly seeking approval and acknowledgement.

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It is important to note that many of the children experienced different emotions within

their family’s dynamic. Some were strongly impacted by their parent’s depression, some were

worried, distressed, while others took responsibility of the household and felt burdened. Children

trying to comfort their parents was present within seven out of the eight families interviewed. In

one instance the child tried to comfort his mother by consoling, hugging and just talking to her.

This highlights the depressed parent’s inability to burden their children or shield them from their

symptoms.

As demonstrated in Dougherty (2013) findings, a parent’s agitation may also be caused

by the child’s worry or caretaking. This creates an unhealthy cycle, where the parent is already

irritated or unhappy due to their inability to take control, which causes the child to take on more

responsibility, further causing parental distress.

Does the severity of the parental depression change the impact of the child’s

temperament? In Conners-Burrow’s (2015) study, low-level maternal depression was strongly

associated with higher externalizing and internalizing behavior in children ages 3 to 5. Male

children expressed higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behavior. Some of the

behaviors these children exhibited included aggression, explosive behavior, antisocial behavior

and more. Low level maternal depression greatly predicted antisocial/aggressive behavior, then

self-centered/explosive behavior followed by problems with attention and overactivity.

Another aspect that is important to understand, is the relationship between characteristics

of each parent’s behavior, and the behavior problems exhibited by their child. They hypothesized

that mothers with depression with relate positively to their child’s internalizing and externalizing

behavior problem ratings. On the other hand, fathers will relate positively to their child’s external

behavioral problems. It was revealed that mothers may try to overcorrect their behavior by

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becoming more involved in their children’s lives. Fewer limits are set for the child, causing

negative external problems. Although not that many fathers participated in this study, they found

that a father’s depression symptom did not relate negatively to a child’s behavior. So, do mothers

with depression have a significant relationship to their child’s development?

It is well documented that parental depression plays a significant role in the development

of a child. These studies prove the need for early interventions in order to improve on their

mental health, and to help them develop the necessary skills for coping with a depressed parent.

Specifically, both depressed mothers and fathers need to be studied in order to understand who

has more of a significant role in their children’s development. Positive parenting behaviors are

needed to ensure healthy environment for children with depressed parents. Children exposed to

depression within the household are negatively impacted.

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References

1. Gagne, J., Spann, C., &Prater, J. (2013). Parent Depression Symptoms and Child

Temperament Outcomes: A Family Study Approach. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral

Research, 18(4), 175-197. https://doi.org/10.1111/jabr.12013

2. Cummings, E., Cheung, R., & Davies, P. (2013). Prospective Relations Between Parental

Depression, Negative Expressiveness, Emotional Insecurity, and Children’s Internalizing

Symptoms. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 44(6), 698-708.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0362-1

3. Dougherty, L., Tolep, M., Smith, V., & Rose, S. (2013). Early Exposure to Parental

Depression and Parenting: Associations with Young Offspring’s Stress Physiology and

Oppositional Behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(8), 1299-1310.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9763-7

4. Hipwell, A., Murray, L., Ducournau, P., & Stein, A. (2005). The effects of maternal

depression and parental conflict on children’s peer play. Child: Care, Health and

Development, 31(1), 11-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00448.x

5. Sullivan, A., Benoit, R., Breslend, N., Vreeland, A., Compas, B., & Forehand, R. (2019).

Cumulative Socioeconomic Status Risk and Observations of Parent Depression: Are

There Associations with Child Outcomes? Journal of Family Psychology, 33(8), 883-

893. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000567

6. Van Parys, H., & Rober, P. (2013). Trying to Comfort the Parent: A Qualitative Study of

Children Dealing with Parental Depression. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy,

39(3), 330-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2012.00304.x

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7. Conners-Burrow, N., Swindle, T., Mckelvey, L., & Bokony, P. (2015). A Little Bit of the

Blues Low-Level Symptoms of Maternal Depression and Classroom Behavior Problems

in Preschool Children. Early Education and Development, 26(2), 230-244.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.979725

8. Middleton, M., Scott, S., & Renk, K. (2009). Parental depression, parenting behaviours,

and behavior problems in young children. Infant and Child Development, 18(4), 323-336.

https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.598