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Author: Kaufman, Jay S.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Chang, Jen Jen
Halpern, Carolyn T.
Kaufman, Jay S.
Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Father's Involvement, and the Trajectories of Child Problem Behaviors in a US National Sample
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 161,7 (July 2007): 697-703.
Also: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/7/697?ck=nck
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Medical Association
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); CESD (Depression Scale); Child Health; Children, Behavioral Development; Depression (see also CESD); Ethnic Differences; Fathers, Involvement; Growth Curves; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Racial Differences; Substance Use; Variables, Independent - Covariate

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objective To examine the effect of maternal depressive symptoms on child problem behavior trajectories and how the father's positive involvement may modify this association.

Design Secondary data analysis using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Setting A nationally representative household sample of men and women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Participants The study sample includes 6552 mother-child dyads interviewed biennially between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 2002; children were 0 to 10 years old at baseline.

Main Outcome Measures Maternal self-reports of child internalizing and externalizing behaviors were assessed repeatedly using a modified Child Behavior Checklist.

Results Linear growth curve models indicate that the adverse effects of maternal depressive symptoms on child problem behavior trajectories become negligible after controlling for the father's involvement and other covariates, including the child's age, sex, and race/ethnicity; the mother's educational level; maternal age at child birth; number of children; poverty status; urban residence; and father's residential status. Positive involvement by the father was inversely associated with child problem behavior trajectories. The effects of maternal depressive symptoms on child problem behaviors varied by the level of the father's positive involvement.

Conclusion When the father actively compensates for limitations in the depressed mother's functioning, the child's risk of problem behaviors may be reduced.

Bibliography Citation
Chang, Jen Jen, Carolyn T. Halpern and Jay S. Kaufman. "Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Father's Involvement, and the Trajectories of Child Problem Behaviors in a US National Sample." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 161,7 (July 2007): 697-703.