Poster #22 - Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Internalizing Problems in Brazilian Families: The Mediation of Emotion Socialization

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

High rates of internalizing problems in childhood are associated with other impairments, including the development of mental disorders. Maternal depression and maternal emotion socialization reactions contribute to children’s internalizing problems, but the mechanisms through which these variables interact remain unclear. This study examined the mediation of maternal emotion socialization reactions in the relation between mothers’ depressive symptoms and children’s internalizing problems in a Brazilian community sample. We tested three hypotheses: (1) mothers’ depressive symptoms have a direct effect on children’s internalizing problems; (2) the relation between maternal depression and internalizing problems is mediated by maternal non-supportive practices reactions of emotion socialization (distress reactions, punitive reactions, minimization reactions, and ignoring reactions); and (3) the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing problems is mediated by maternal supportive reactions (expressive encouragement, emotion-focused reactions, problem-focused reactions) problems. Participants were 153 mothers of children (54.9% boys) with a mean age of 54.75 months (SD = 12.0 months). Recruitment took place in eight private schools in Salvador, Brazil, located in poor and middle-class neighborhoods of the city. To participate in the study, mothers had to be living with their child. Mothers’ mean age was 33.2 years (SD = 6.7 years) and their mean education level was 11.94 (SD = 2.5; Mdn = 11.00) years. Slightly more than half of the sample (61%) worked outside of the home. The Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) evaluated emotion socialization reactions, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) assessed children’s internalizing behaviors, and the Beck Depression Inventory I (BDI-I) measured maternal depressive symptoms. The three hypotheses were assessed by PROCESS Multiple Mediation Model 4 for parallel multiple mediation. Figure 1 shows B and p values of mediation analysis, which explained 16.4% of the variance in child internalizing problems, F(3, 149) = 9,77, p < .001, R2 = .164. We found a direct positive effect of maternal depressive symptoms on child internalizing problems (B = 0.36, 95% confidence interval CI [0.18, 0.54]), supporting the first hypothesis. Supporting the second hypothesis, a bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect based on 20,000 bootstrap samples did not cross 0, indicating that maternal non-supportive reactions of emotions was a significant mediator between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing problems (B = 0.05, CI [0.01, 0.11]). The specified path indicated that maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher levels of maternal non-supportive reactions (B = 0.05, CI [0.01, 0.08]), which in turn were linked to higher internalizing problems in children (B = 1.04, CI [0.28, 1.80]). Finally, the third hypothesis was not supported. A bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect based on 20,000 bootstrap samples crossed 0, indicating no mediation of maternal supportive reactions (B = 0.003, CI [–0.02, 0.03]). Early psychosocial interventions that reduce non-supportive reactions to children’s emotions may be an important way of assisting children in understanding and managing their negative emotions.

Authors

• Taiane Costa de Souza Lins, Federal University of Bahia

• Patricia Alvarenga, Federal University of Bahia
  Presenting Author

• Sophie Seychelle Havighurst, University of Melbourne

• Antonio Carlos Santos da Silva, Federal University of Bahia