Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:50-55
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Observations of interactions of depressed women with their children
D Gordon, D Burge, C Hammen, C Adrian, C Jaenicke and D Hiroto
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024.
Dysfunctional interactions between mothers with major affective disorders
and their children may contribute to the children's high risk of disorder.
This study investigated the behavior of mothers with recurrent unipolar
depression, bipolar disorder, or chronic medical illness and of normal
subjects toward their children during a directly observed conflict
discussion task. In addition, lifetime history of depression, current mood,
and chronic stress were investigated as predictors of maternal interaction.
Unipolar depressed women displayed relatively more negative, less positive,
and less task-focused behaviour toward their children. Current mood and
chronic stress, more than psychiatric history, contributed to the
prediction of interaction style.
