Maternal Depression and Child and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: a Propensity Score Matching Approach

Prior studies have consistently revealed that maternal depression is significantly associated with children exhibiting higher levels of internalizing problem behaviors and externalizing problem behaviors. However, there is reason to believe that prior research may have suffered from model misspecification and confounding that biased the conclusions drawn from these studies. We use this possibility as the foundation for our analyses that examine the potential association between maternal depression and child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors while addressing the methodological limitations of previous research. To do so, we analyzed data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and used propensity score matching. The analyses revealed significant differences between depressed and non-depressed mothers that, once accounted for, significantly impacted the revealed associations between maternal depression and child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Although the significant relationship with child internalizing problem behaviors remained in all of the cross-sectional and longitudinal models post-matching, once the mothers were properly matched, the significant relationship between maternal depression and child externalizing problem behaviors disappeared at Wave 3. We conclude by discussing the implications and limitations of our study as well as considerations for future research.