Socialization of emotion and offspring internalizing symptoms in mothers with childhood-onset depression

This study examines how mothers with and without a history of childhood-onset depression respond to their 3–9 year-old children's emotions. Mother–child dyads included 55 offspring of mothers with a history of childhood-onset depressive disorders and 57 offspring of never-depressed mothers. Mothers with a history of childhood depression were less likely than control mothers to respond in supportive ways to their children's negative emotions and were more likely to magnify, punish, or neglect their children's negative emotions. Magnification, neglect, and punishment of children's negative emotions were concurrently associated with children's internalizing symptoms, and neglect and punishment were associated with internalizing over a one year follow-up. Maternal neglect of children's negative emotion was positively associated with later internalizing symptoms for children who already had higher internalizing symptoms at the initial assessment. Findings suggest that atypical socialization of emotion may be one mechanism in the development of internalizing disorders.

Research highlights► COD mothers are less supportive in response to children's negative emotions. ► COD mothers are more likely to magnify, punish, or neglect negative emotions. ► Maternal negative responses to emotions are associated with internalizing. ► Neglect is most detrimental for children high in internalizing at Time 1.