Sequential interactions in the parent-child communications of depressed fathers and depressed mothers

Parental depression predicts adjustment problems and depression in offspring, yet little is known about the factors that explain this intergenerational transmission. In the present study, the authors examined one model suggesting that families with a depressed member may respond differently to positive and negative communications than families without a depressed member, differences that have been theorized to adversely impact offspring development. The authors compared the sequential patterns of parent-child interaction among families with depressed mothers, depressed fathers, and nondepressed parents. Positivity suppression, defined as decreased rates of positivity following a positive communication from other family members, characterized the interactions of families with a depressed father, but not those with a depressed mother or no depressed parent. Father-child positivity suppression and low base rates of positivity were associated with child behavior problems, but not after accounting for paternal depression.