Children of Depressed Mothers
From Early Childhood to Maturity

A developmental perspective on the psychopathology of offspring of depressed mothers.

Marian Radke-Yarrow (Author), Pedro Martinez (Contributions by), Anne Mayfield (Contributions by), Donna Ronsaville (Contributions by)

9780521551311, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 October 1998

236 pages, 8 b/w illus. 29 tables
23.8 x 16 x 2 cm, 0.481 kg

"This book is a welcome source of information for practitioners, researchers, educators, and policy makers who are interested in the complex dynamics within families who struggle with depression." Judith C. Kulig, Family and Community Health

The study presented in this book imposes a developmental perspective on the psychopathology of offspring of depressed mothers. A primary theme is the interplay of factors in child (developmental stage, gender, temperament) and environment (depressed mother's symptomatic behaviour and family functioning) as contributors to psychiatric and psychosocial problems in offspring. Children and their families are followed from toddler-hood to the threshold of adulthood. The emergence and evolution of problems differ by mother's diagnosis - unipolar and bipolar depressed as well. Configurations of variables in the individual child are identified which, in combination, create diverse processes that put offspring at risk for specific problems. Early depressed mother–child relationships are strongly influential. Specific affective and temperament qualities of mother and child act reciprocally, increasing. The longitudinal data grasp the nature of connectedness of early experience to ongoing development, and identify patterns of child-to-adult connections. Findings suggest new questions and revised research paradigms.

1. Orientation and themes
2. An overview of objectives and approach
3. Questions and answers in the Literature
4. The research design and procedures
5. Children of depressed mothers - case descriptions
6. The development of children of depressed and well mothers: group analyses
7. The development of children of depressed and well mothers: longitudinal analyses of individual development
8. Children's problems in relation to characteristics of mother's depression and illness history
9. Family environments - case descriptions
10. Family environments of depression
11. Depressed parents - case descriptions
12. The depressed mother as environment
13. The child as a variable in development and outcome
14. Common and diverse pathways, mechanisms, and outcomes
15. Prediction and understanding of development.

Subject Areas: Child & developmental psychology [JMC]