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Maternal Criticism and Adolescent Depressive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms: A 6-Year Longitudinal Community Study

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Abstract

This 6-year longitudinal study examined the direction of effects (i.e., parent effects, child effects, or reciprocal effects) between maternal criticism and adolescent depressive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) symptoms, including adolescents’ perceptions of criticism as a potential mediator. Consistent with recent empirical findings on associations between parenting and adolescent internalizing symptoms, we hypothesized stronger child effects than parent effects. A community sample of 497 adolescents (M age = 13.03 at T1, 57 % boys) reported annually on their depressive and GAD symptoms as well as their perceptions of parental criticism. Their mothers (M age = 44.41 at T1) also reported annually on their own critical behavior toward their adolescent. As expected, cross-lagged panel models demonstrated stronger child effects (i.e., adolescent psychopathology predicting maternal criticism) than parent effects (i.e., maternal criticism predicting adolescent psychopathology) for both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms, including adolescent perceived criticism as a significant mediator. Our results emphasize the importance of considering (1) potential bidirectional influences over time, contrary to a focus on parent effects on adolescent mental health, as well as (2) adolescent perceptions of parenting as an important potential mediator in associations between aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent internalizing psychopathological symptoms.

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Notes

  1. The full correlation matrix is available from the first author on request.

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Acknowledgment

Data of the RADAR study were used. RADAR has been financially supported by main grants from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (GB-MAGW 480-03-005, GBMAGW 480-08-006), and Stichting Achmea Slachtoffer en Samenleving (SASS), and various other grants from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the VU University Amsterdam and Utrecht University.

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  1. Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Stefanie A. Nelemans, William W. Hale III, Susan J. T. Branje, Skyler T. Hawk & Wim H. J. Meeus

  2. Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, PO Box 90.153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Wim H. J. Meeus

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  1. Stefanie A. Nelemans
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  2. William W. Hale III
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Correspondence to Stefanie A. Nelemans.

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Nelemans, S.A., Hale, W.W., Branje, S.J.T. et al. Maternal Criticism and Adolescent Depressive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms: A 6-Year Longitudinal Community Study. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42, 755–766 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9817-x

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