The Relation Between Maternal and Child Depression in Mexican American Families

In an effort to better understand possible pathways that lead to a relatively high incidence of depressive symptoms among Mexican American youth, an interpersonal stress model of depression was tested using a community sample of 674 Mexican American mothers and their 5th grade children. Structural equation analyses revealed that maternal depression was positively related to mothers' interpersonal stress in their relationships. Additionally, maternal poor parenting quality was associated with three child outcomes: lower social competence, higher interpersonal stress, and higher depressive symptoms. Child difficulties with peers, however, were not related to child depression. Overall, evidence suggests that familial factors, rather than peer factors, were related to child depression for these study participants.