Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal Depression, Locus of Control, and Emotion Regulatory Strategy as Predictors of Preschoolers’ Internalizing Problems

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Child and Family Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Childhood internalizing problems may occur as early as preschool, tend to be stable over time, and undermine social and academic functioning. Parent emotion regulatory behaviors may contribute to child internalizing problems and may be especially important during the preschool years when parents model emotion coping and regulation for their children. Parents who feel out of control of their preschoolers’ behavior and emotional states may adopt avoidant emotion regulatory strategies. We proposed that parent depression, perceived locus of control, and experiential avoidance would be linked with internalizing symptoms in a high-risk sample of preschool-aged children. We also expected that locus of control would mediate the relationship between maternal depression, experiential avoidance, and child internalizing problems. Seventy-four urban, low-income, diverse mothers of Head Start preschool children completed rating scales measuring their own depression, locus of control, experiential avoidance, and their children’s internalizing behaviors. Correlational analyses revealed that mothers reporting higher levels of depression were more likely to report experiential avoidance, feeling out of control in their parenting role, and internalizing symptoms in their children. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that locus of control explained additional unique variance in child internalizing problems over and above that explained by maternal depression. Locus of control mediated the relationship between maternal depression and child internalizing symptoms. The importance of considering parent locus of control and its relation to children’s internalizing symptoms is discussed as a potential target for early childhood prevention programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. California: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenney, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bayer, J. K., Sanson, A. V., & Hemphill, S. A. (2006). Parent influences on early childhood difficulties. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 542–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackledge, J. T., & Hayes, S. C. (2006). Using acceptance and commitment training in the support of parents of children diagnosed with autism. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 28(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, R. H., Whiteside, L., Mundfrom, D., Casey, P., Kelleher, K., & Pope, S. (1994). Early indications of resilience and their relations to experiences in the home environments of low birthweight premature children living in poverty. Child Development, 65, 346–360.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Carter, A. S., Irwin, J. R., Wachtel, K., & Cicchetti, D. V. (2004). The brief infant–toddler social and emotional assessment: Screening for social–emotional problems and delays in competence. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29, 143–155.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Calkins, S. D., Gill, K. L., Johnson, M. C., & Smith, C. L. (1999). Emotional reactivity and emotional regulation strategies as predictors of social behavior with peers during toddlerhood. Social Development, 8, 310–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. B., Morgan-Lopez, A., Cox, M., & McLoyd, V. (2009). A latent class analysis of maternal depressive symptoms over 12 years and offspring adjustment in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118, 479–493.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campis, L. K., Lyman, R. D., & Prentice-Dunn, S. (1986). The parental locus of control scale: Development and validation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 50, 260–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, A. L., Gratz, K. L., & Brown, M. Z. (2006). Solving the puzzle of deliberate self-harm: The experiential avoidance model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 371–394.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheron, D. M., Ehrenreich, J. T., & Pincus, D. B. (2009). Assessment of parental experiential avoidance in a clinical sample of children with anxiety disorders. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40, 383–403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chorpita, B. F., & Barlow, D. H. (1998). The development of anxiety: The role of control in the early environment. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 3–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1995). Developmental psychopathology and disorders of affect. In D. Cicchetti & D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology. Volume I: Theory and methods (pp. 369–420). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1998). The development of depression in children and adolescents. American Psychologist, 53, 221–241.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, G. N., Hawkins, W., Murphy, M., & Sheeber, L. B. (1993). School-based primary prevention of depressive symptomatology in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 8, 183–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coyne, L. W., Low, C. M., Miller, A. L., Siefer, R., & Dickstein, S. (2007). Mothers’ empathic understanding of their toddlers: Associations with maternal depression and sensitivity. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 483–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denham, S. A., Mitchell-Copeland, J., Strandberg, K., Auerbach, S., & Blair, K. (1997). Parental contributions to preschoolers’ emotional competence: Direct and indirect effects. Motivation and Emotion, 21, 65–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, M. L., Mengelsdorf, S. C., McHale, J. L., & Frosch, C. A. (2002). Infants’ behavioral strategies for emotion regulation with fathers and mothers: Associations with emotional expressions and attachment quality. Infancy, 3, 153–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dix, T., Gershoff, E. T., Meunier, L. N., & Miller, P. C. (2004). The affective structure of supportive parenting: Depressive symptoms, immediate emotions, and child-oriented motivation. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1212–1227.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dix, T., & Meunier, L. M. (2009). Depressive symptoms and parenting competence: An analysis of 13 regulatory processes. Developmental Review, 29, 45–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downey, G., & Coyne, J. C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 50–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Egger, H. L., & Angold, A. (2006). Common emotional and behavioral disorders in preschool children: Presentation, nosology, & epidemiology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 313–337.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Morris, A. S., Fabes, R. A., Cumberland, A., Reiser, M., et al. (2003). Longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity, children’s regulation, and quality of socioemotional function. Developmental Psychology, 39, 3–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, X., Shaw, D. S., Kovacs, M., Lane, T., O’Rourke, F. E., & Alarcon, J. H. (2008). Emotion regulation in preschoolers: The roles of behavioral inhibition, maternal affective behavior, and maternal depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 132–141.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, X., Shaw, D. S., Skuban, E. M., & Lane, T. (2007). Emotional exchange in mother-child dyads: Stability, mutual influence, and associations with maternal depression and child problem behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 714–725.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forbes, E. E., Shaw, D. S., Silk, J. S., Feng, X., Fox, N. A., & Kovacs, M. (2007). Children’s affect expression and frontal EEG asymmetry: Transactional associations with mothers’ depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 207–221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerdes, A. C., Hoza, B., Arnold, L. E., Pelham, W. E., Swanson, J. E., Wigal, T., et al. (2007). Maternal depressive symptomatology and parenting behavior: Exploration of possible mediators. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 705–714.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grolnick, W. S., Bridges, L. J., & Connell, J. P. (1996). Emotion regulation in 2-year-olds: Strategies and emotional expression in four contexts. Child Development, 67, 928–941.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., & Gifford, E. V. (1997). The trouble with language: Experiential avoidance, rules, and the nature of verbal events. Psychological Science, 8, 170–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., Wilson, K. G., Bissett, R. T., Pistorello, J., Toarmino, D., et al. (2004). Measuring experiential avoidance: A preliminary test of a working model. The Psychological Record, 54, 553–578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, C., Crnic, K. A., & Baker, J. K. (2006). Maternal depression and parenting: Implications for children’s emergent emotion regulation and behavioral functioning. Parenting: Science and Practice, 6, 271–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, J. L., Comer, J. S., & Kendall, P. C. (2008). Parental responses to positive and negative emotions in anxious and nonanxious children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 303–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. (2003). Origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 77–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. R., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Fombonne, E., Poulton, R., & Martin, J. (2002). Differences in early childhood risk factors for juvenile-onset and adult-onset depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 215–222.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. L., & Prinz, R. J. (2005). Potential roles of parental self-efficacy in parent and child adjustment: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 341–363.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplow, J. B., & Widom, C. S. (2007). Age of onset of child maltreatment predicts long-term mental health outcomes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 176–187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kendler, K. S. (1996). Major depression and generalised anxiety disorder same genes: (Partly) different environments—Revisited. British Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 68–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendler, K. S., & Gardner, C. O. (2001). Monozygotic twins discordant for major depression: A preliminary exploration of the role of environmental experiences in the aetiology and course of illness. Psychological Medicine, 31, 411–423.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kopp, C. B. (1989). Regulation of distress and negative emotions: A developmental view. Developmental Psychology, 25, 343–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M., Sherrill, J., George, C. J., Pollock, M., Tumuluru, R. V., & Ho, V. (2006). Contextual-emotion regulation therapy for childhood depression: Description and pilot testing of a new intervention. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 892–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laskey, B. J., & Cartwright-Hatton, S. (2009). Parental discipline behaviors and beliefs about their child: Associations with child internalizing and mediation relationships. Child: Care, Health and Development, 35, 717–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., & Fisher, S. A. (1993). Age-cohort changes in the lifetime occurrence of depression and other mental disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 110–120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loman, M. M., & Gunnar, M. R. (2010). Early experience and development of stress reactivity and regulation in children. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 34, 867–876.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, M. C., Graczyk, P. A., O’Hare, E., & Neuman, G. (2000). Maternal depression and parenting behavior: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 561–592.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luby, J. L., & Belden, A. C. (2006). Mood disorders: Phenomenology and a developmental emotion reactivity model. In J. L. Luby (Ed.), Handbook of preschool mental health: Development, disorders, and treatment (pp. 209–230). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luby, J. L., Belden, A. C., & Spitznagel, E. (2006). Risk factors for preschool depression: The mediating role of early stressful life events. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 1292–1298.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luby, J. L., Heffelfinger, A. K., Mrakotsky, C., Brown, K. M., Hessler, M. J., Wallis, J. M., et al. (2003). The clinical picture of depression in preschool children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 340–348.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luby, J. L., Heffelfinger, A., Mrakotsky, C., Hessler, M., Brown, K., & Hildebrand, T. (2002). Preschool major depressive disorder: Preliminary validation for developmentally modified DSM-IV criteria. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 928–937.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan, J., & Offord, D. R. (2003). Clinical and policy implications for prevention. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, B. D., Weisz, J. R., & Wood, J. J. (2007). Examining the association between parenting and depression: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 986–1003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Múthen, B., & Shedden, K. (1999). Finite mixture modeling with mixture outcomes using the EM algorithm. Biometrics, 55, 463–469.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Papageorigou, C., & Wells, A. (2003). An empirical test of a clinical metacognitive model of rumination and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 261–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1–28. (whole no. 609).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rotter, J. B. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45, 489–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seifer, R., & Dickstein, S. (2000). Parental mental illness and infant development. In C. Zeanah (Ed.), Handbook of infant mental health (2nd ed., pp. 145–160). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (1974). Depression and learned helplessness. In R. J. Friedman & M. M. Katz (Eds.), The psychology of depression: Contemporary theory and research. Washington, DC: Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, D. S., Shonberg, M., Sherrill, J., Huffman, D., Lukon, J., Obrosky, D., et al. (2006). Responsivity to offspring’s expression of emotion among childhood-onset depressed mothers. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 540–552.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shea, S., & Coyne, L. W. (in press). Maternal dysphoric mood, stress and parenting practices in mothers of preschoolers: The role of experiential avoidance. Journal of Child and Family Behavior Therapy.

  • Silberg, J., Rutter, M., Neale, M., & Eaves, L. (2001). Genetic moderation of environmental risk for depression and anxiety in adolescent girls. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 116–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. S., Shaw, D. S., Forbes, E. E., Lane, T. L., & Kovacs, M. (2006a). Maternal depression and child internalizing: The moderating role of child emotion regulation. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 116–126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, S. S., Shaw, D. S., Skuban, E. M., Oland, A. A., & Kovacs, M. (2006b). Emotion regulation strategies in offspring of childhood-onset depressed mothers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 69–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sterba, S. K., Prinstein, M. J., & Cox, M. J. (2007). Trajectories of internalizing disorders across childhood: Heterogeneity, external validity, and gender differences. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 345–366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnik, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. In N. A. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation: Biological and behavioral considerations. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (Vol. 59, pp. 25–52). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, S., Podell, J. C., Martin, E. D., Mychailyszyn, M. P., Furr, J. M., & Kendall, P. C. (2008). Experiential avoidance in the parenting of anxious youth: Theory, research, and future directions. Cognition & Emotion, 22, 480–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trapolini, T., McMahon, C. A., & Ungerer, J. A. (2007). The effect of maternal depression and marital adjustment on young children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Child: Care, Health and Development, 34, 794–803.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Does, W. (2005). Thought suppression and cognitive vulnerability to depression. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 1–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • West, A. E., & Newman, D. L. (2003). Worried and blue: Mild parental anxiety and depression in relation to the development of young children’s temperament and behavior problems. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3, 133–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahn-Waxler, C., Klimes-Dougan, B., & Slattery, M. (2000). Internalizing problems of childhood and adolescence: Prospects, pitfalls, and progress in understanding the development of anxiety and depression. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 443–466.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Lance Swenson and Jason Bendezu for their thoughtful comments and suggestions on this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Lisa W. Coyne & Alysha D. Thompson

Authors
  1. Lisa W. Coyne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alysha D. Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa W. Coyne.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Coyne, L.W., Thompson, A.D. Maternal Depression, Locus of Control, and Emotion Regulatory Strategy as Predictors of Preschoolers’ Internalizing Problems. J Child Fam Stud 20, 873–883 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9455-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9455-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation