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A Dynamic Systems Analysis of Dyadic Flexibility and Shared Affect in Preschoolers with and Without Major Depressive Disorder

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Abstract

Preschool onset Major Depressive Disorder (PO-MDD) is a severe disorder often leading to chronic impairment and poor outcomes across development. Recent work suggests that the caregiver-child relationship may contribute to PO-MDD symptoms partially through disrupted caregiver-child interactions. The current study uses a dynamic systems approach to investigate whether co-regulation patterns in a dyad with a child experiencing PO-MDD differ from dyads with a child without the disorder. Preschoolers between the ages of 3–7 years-old (N = 215; M(SD) = 5.22(1.06); 35% girls; 77% white) were recruited for a randomized controlled trial of an adapted version of parent-child interaction therapy. An additional sample (N = 50; M(SD) = 5.17(.84)’ 34% girls; 76% white) was recruited as a control group. Dyads completed two interactive tasks and affect was coded throughout the interaction. State Space Grids (SSG) were used to derive measures of dyadic affective flexibility (i.e., affective variability in dyadic interactions) and shared affect. PO-MDD dyads did not differ from controls in dyadic affective flexibility. However, there were significant differences in shared positive and neutral affect. PO-MDD dyads spent less time and had fewer instances of shared positive affect and spent more time and had more instances of shared neutral affect than the community control group. These comparisons survived multiple comparisons correction. There were no differences for shared negative affect. Findings suggest that children experiencing PO-MDD have differing dyadic affective experiences with their caregivers than healthy developing children, which may be a mechanism through which depressive states are reinforced and could be targeted for treatment.

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Acknowledgements

L.E.Q.C., D.J.W., J.L.L., and K.E.G. had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The authors wish to thank the families who participated in the Parent–Child Interaction Treatment Emotion Development (PCITED) study as well as the team of coders who made this work possible. Clinical trial registration information: A Randomized Control Trial of PCITED for Preschool Depression; http://clinicaltrials.gov/NCT02076425.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Grant #s 5R01MH098454-04 (PI: J.L.L.), K23MH115074-01 (PI: K.E.G.), K23MH22325028202-01 (PI: D.J.W.). The funding source had no role in the design and conduct of the study, the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway STE 5.708 Mail Stop D5800, 78712, Austin, TX, USA

    Laura E. Quiñones-Camacho

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Diana J. Whalen, Joan L. Luby & Kirsten E. Gilbert

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  1. Laura E. Quiñones-Camacho
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  2. Diana J. Whalen
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Quiñones-Camacho, L.E., Whalen, D.J., Luby, J.L. et al. A Dynamic Systems Analysis of Dyadic Flexibility and Shared Affect in Preschoolers with and Without Major Depressive Disorder. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 51, 1225–1235 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01057-w

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