Family systems research has identified two key processes (spillover and compensatory), linking interparental relationship quality to the parent-child relationship. However, previous research has focused on the parent as the sole initiator and had not often considered the role of the child in these processes. The present study adds to the…

This study examines interactions of heritable influences, prenatal substance use, and postnatal parental warmth and hostility on the development of conduct problems in middle childhood for boys and girls. Participants are 561 linked families, collected in 2 cohorts, including birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children. Heritable…

Background: Although low positive affect (PA) and high negative affect (NA) have been posited to predispose to depressive disorders, little is known about the developmental trajectories of these affects in children at familial risk for mood disorders. Methods: We examined 202 offspring of mothers who had a history of juvenile-onset unipolar…

This study investigated the development of mother-son relationship quality from ages 5 to 15 in a sample of 265 low-income families. Nonparametric random effects modeling was utilized to uncover distinct and homogeneous developmental trajectories of conflict and warmth; antecedents and outcomes of the trajectory groups also were examined. Four…

Although parents and children are thought to influence one another's affect and behavior, few studies have examined the direction of effects from children to parents, particularly with respect to parental psychopathology. We tested the hypothesis that children's affective characteristics are associated with the course of mothers' depressive…

Background: This study examined preschoolers' emotion regulation (ER) strategies and the association with temperament, maternal interactive style, and maternal history of childhood-onset depression (COD). Methods: Participants were 62 children and their mothers, 37 of whom had mothers with COD. Children's ER was assessed using a disappointment…

Background: Despite findings that parent depression increases children's risk for internalizing and externalizing problems, little is known about other factors that combine with parent depression to contribute to behavior problems. Methods: As part of a longitudinal, interdisciplinary study on childhood-onset depression (COD), we examined the…

This study examined responsivity of mothers with childhood-onset depression (COD) in relation to children's overt expression of positive and negative emotion. It was hypothesized that COD and control mothers would differ in contingent responsivity to their children's expression of both positivity and different types of negative emotionality. Using…