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Conditions associated with reduced harsh parenting among mothers with depressive symptoms or antisocial behavior

Amélie Petitclerc¹, Dorota Biedzio Rizik¹, James L Burns¹

¹Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States.

Child Abuse & Neglect

|June 22, 2025

Abstract

Background:

Mothers with depressive symptoms or antisocial behavior are more likely to engage in harsh parenting.

Objective:

To examine whether economic assistance and social support moderate this risk.

Participants:

Families of preschoolers (n = 497, mean [SD] age, 4.8 [0.9] years) from the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers Study (MAPS), recruited from urban pediatric clinics and oversampled for family violence and child disruptive behavior.

Methods:

Mothers self-reported on their depressive and antisocial history, and two potential protective factors (economic assistance and social support). We measured maternal harsh parenting outcomes via a multi-method approach including (1) self-reported physically harsh parenting, (2) self-reported psychological aggression toward the child, (3) direct observation of dysregulated parenting, (4) interviewer-rated probability of physical abuse and (5) interviewer-rated probability of psychological abuse. Using regression analyses, we tested interactions between the potential moderators and maternal psychopathology in predicting harsh parenting.

Results:

Maternal psychopathology was associated with increased risk for harsh parenting. However, economic assistance and social support moderated some of that risk, with different patterns depending on predictor (depressive or antisocial history), moderator, and harsh parenting outcome measure. Among low-income families, economic assistance moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and self-reported physically harsh parenting. Higher social support moderated the associations of maternal depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior with observed dysregulated parenting. Higher social support also moderated the association between maternal antisocial behavior and interviewer-rated probable physical abuse.

Conclusions:

Social and economic supports should be considered in assessing risks and designing child abuse prevention strategies for mothers with psychopathology.

Keywords:

Antisocial behavior Economic assistance Harsh parenting Maternal depression Social support

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