Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents
Published on: June 10, 2013
Role of maternal depression in perceptions of child maladjustment
We investigated (a) the relation of maternal depression to perceptions of externalizing and internalizing disorders in children and (b) quality of communication in a mother-child interaction task as a function of maternal depression and perceptions of the child. 64 children of unipolar or bipolar mothers, chronic medically ill or normal mothers were studied; clinical diagnoses, children's reports, and teachers' ratings served as objective criteria of children's maladjustment. Maternal depression defined by current symptomatology on the Beck Depression Inventory and by psychiatric status was not associated with misperceptions of psychopathology. Maternal depression interacted with children's actual behaviors to predict mothers' perceptions: nondepressed mothers were less accurate reporters of problems in children than were depressed mothers. Depressed mothers who perceived maladjustment in their disturbed children made more negative comments in interactions that did nondepressed mothers of disturbed children. The apparent mutual impact of mothers' and children's maladjustment requires fuller exploration in offspring studies.
We investigated (a) the relation of maternal depression to perceptions of externalizing and internalizing disorders in children and (b) quality of communication in a mother-child interaction task as a function of maternal depression and perceptions of the child. 64 children of unipolar or bipolar mothers, chronic medically ill or normal mothers were studied; clinical diagnoses, children's reports, and teachers' ratings served as objective criteria of children's maladjustment. Maternal depression defined by current symptomatology on the Beck Depression Inventory and by psychiatric status was not associated with misperceptions of psychopathology. Maternal depression interacted with children's actual behaviors to predict mothers' perceptions: nondepressed mothers were less accurate reporters of problems in children than were depressed mothers. Depressed mothers who perceived maladjustment in their disturbed children made more negative comments in interactions that did nondepressed mothers of disturbed children. The apparent mutual impact of mothers' and children's maladjustment requires fuller exploration in offspring studies.
More Related Videos
07:56Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
06:39Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Depression: Overview
Factors Affecting Perception
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Depressive Disorders: Etiology
Biological Factors in Depression
Biological predispositions significantly influence the risk of developing depressive disorders. Genetic studies highlight the role of variations in the serotonin transporter...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment