Dont cry, sweetheart: Moment-to-moment responses to toddler negative affect for mothers with and without depression

Depression is common among mothers of young children and has documented impacts on the parent-child relationship and children's emotional development. Examining in-the-moment maternal responses to toddlers' expressions of negative affect can inform our understanding of the specific ways depression may impact mother-child interaction. Among a sample (n = 131) of mothers (44.3 % clinically depressed) and their 1- to 3-year-old children, we examined maternal response to toddler expression of negative affect during a series of interactive tasks. We looked across the spectrum of maternal responses to child negative affect, including responding with comforting behavior, positive affect, neutral affect, and negative affect, and how this differed between mothers with and without depression. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that mothers with depression were less likely to display positive affect and more likely to display neutral affect in the epoch following child negative emotional expression, compared to mothers without depression. Contrary to hypotheses, we found that mothers with depression were similarly likely as mothers without depression to respond to child negative affect with comforting behavior and negative affect themselves. As caregiver response to toddler negative affect shapes the development of early child emotional regulation abilities, better understanding specific patterns of maternal emotional responsiveness to toddler's negative affect can support effective intervention with mothers to help them build their child's emotion regulation abilities, even in the context of maternal depression.