Exploring the Relationships Between Maternal Mental Health Symptoms and Young Children’s Functioning in a Low-Income, Minority Sample.
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| Title: | Exploring the Relationships Between Maternal Mental Health Symptoms and Young Children’s Functioning in a Low-Income, Minority Sample. |
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| Authors: | Palmer Molina, Abigail, Negriff, Sonya, Monro, William, Mennen, Ferol E. |
| Source: | Journal of Child & Family Studies. Dec2018, Vol. 27 Issue 12, p3975-3985. 11p. 1 Diagram, 4 Charts. |
| Subjects: | Low-income mothers, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Minority families, Behavior disorders in children, Community health services, Mental depression, Psychology of Hispanic Americans, Mental health, Minorities, Mother-child relationship, Parenting, Path analysis (Statistics), Poverty, Emotional trauma, Questionnaires, Psychological stress, White people, Psychology of Black people, Attitudes of mothers, Disease complications, Disease risk factors |
| Abstract: | Poor maternal mental health, including depression and high stress levels, can negatively impact many domains of child development, particularly among low-income, ethnic minority families experiencing multiple stressors. Low-income minority mothers, particularly Hispanic mothers, are also at increased risk of experiencing exposure to community violence and other types of trauma. However, studies exploring the additional impact of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s functioning are rare. This study aims to address this gap by examining the impact of maternal trauma symptoms on young children’s functioning in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic sample through the mechanisms of maternal depressive symptoms, and mother’s experiences of parenting stress and strain. The sample consisted of 158 biological mothers (58% Hispanic, 13% African American, 5.7% White American) who were participating in community-based mental health treatment for their children (MAGE = 3.7, SD = 1.2). Mothers completed questionnaires providing information on their children’s behaviors and their own mental health and stress levels at intake. Path analysis indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems through maternal depressive symptoms and maternal stress in the parent-child relationship (β = 0.09, p < 0.01). In addition, there was a direct effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems (β = 0.32, p < 0.001). The results suggest that maternal trauma symptoms, in addition to maternal depressive symptoms, contribute to poor maternal and child functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Poor maternal mental health, including depression and high stress levels, can negatively impact many domains of child development, particularly among low-income, ethnic minority families experiencing multiple stressors. Low-income minority mothers, particularly Hispanic mothers, are also at increased risk of experiencing exposure to community violence and other types of trauma. However, studies exploring the additional impact of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s functioning are rare. This study aims to address this gap by examining the impact of maternal trauma symptoms on young children’s functioning in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic sample through the mechanisms of maternal depressive symptoms, and mother’s experiences of parenting stress and strain. The sample consisted of 158 biological mothers (58% Hispanic, 13% African American, 5.7% White American) who were participating in community-based mental health treatment for their children (MAGE = 3.7, SD = 1.2). Mothers completed questionnaires providing information on their children’s behaviors and their own mental health and stress levels at intake. Path analysis indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems through maternal depressive symptoms and maternal stress in the parent-child relationship (β = 0.09, p < 0.01). In addition, there was a direct effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems (β = 0.32, p < 0.001). The results suggest that maternal trauma symptoms, in addition to maternal depressive symptoms, contribute to poor maternal and child functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 10621024 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10826-018-1225-y |
