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Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?

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Abstract

Both parental conditional regard for academics and depressogenic attributions are related to detrimental psychological outcomes for children. Here we examine associations among parental conditional negative regard, child depressogenic attributions, child depressive symptoms, and emotion reactivity in children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as whether children’s self-reported and behavioral attributions for negative events mediate associations between parental conditional negative regard for academics with children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity. In Study 1 (N = 108, M age  = 9.73, 50 male), children’s self-reported attributions for hypothetical events mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child depressive symptoms. In Study 2 (N = 104, M age  = 10.28, 54 male), children attempted an impossible puzzle task while their skin conductance level was monitored, after which they completed an interview that was coded for spontaneous attributions for failure. Children’s spontaneous attributions mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child emotion reactivity, but not depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that children’s attributions may be a mechanism through which parental conditional negative regard is related to children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity during a performance challenge. These results have implications for developmental models of depression risk and potential areas for clinical interventions with both children and their parents.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Pomona CARE Lab research assistants whose assistance was invaluable and the mothers and children who participated in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Pomona College, Claremont, CA, USA

    Laura Perrone, Jessica L. Borelli, Patricia Smiley & Hannah F. Rasmussen

  2. Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Jessica L. Borelli

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Hannah F. Rasmussen

  4. Psychology Department, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, USA

    Lori M. Hilt

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  1. Laura Perrone
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Correspondence to Jessica L. Borelli.

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Perrone, L., Borelli, J.L., Smiley, P. et al. Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?. J Child Fam Stud 25, 3387–3402 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0495-5

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