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Links Between Maternal and Child Psychopathology Symptoms: Mediation Through Child Emotion Regulation and Moderation Through Maternal Behavior

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Abstract

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology symptoms with 7–12 year-old children (N = 97; 44 boys, 53 girls, M age = 9.14, SD = 1.38) and their mothers (M age = 38.46, SD = 6.86). Child emotion regulation mediated the links between maternal psychopathology and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In turn, the indirect effect was dependent on the level of maternal support in response to youth’s expressions of negative emotions when considering particular constellations of maternal reactions and type of psychopathology symptoms. The findings indicate that the relations between maternal and child psychopathology symptoms and child emotion regulation are complex and vary by context. Regardless of the complexity, however, for both internalizing and externalizing symptoms in youth, the results suggest that building adaptive emotion regulation skills is an important target for prevention among children who are at risk for problems due to exposure to maternal psychopathology.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the University of Georgia Research Foundation and William A. and Barbara R. Owens Institute for Behavioral Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Cynthia Suveg, Anne Shaffer, Diana Morelen & Kristel Thomassin

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  1. Cynthia Suveg
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  2. Anne Shaffer
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  3. Diana Morelen
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  4. Kristel Thomassin
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Correspondence to Cynthia Suveg.

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Suveg, C., Shaffer, A., Morelen, D. et al. Links Between Maternal and Child Psychopathology Symptoms: Mediation Through Child Emotion Regulation and Moderation Through Maternal Behavior. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 42, 507–520 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-011-0223-8

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