Pathways between parental depressed mood and child cognition in economically marginalized populations

Research supports parental depressed mood, negative parenting, and family conflict as risk factors for poorer cognition in early childhood. The current study is the first to examine bidirectional associations between maternal and paternal depressed mood, negative maternal and paternal parenting, family conflict, and child cognition. Data was drawn from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation study using interviews, self-report, and performance-based measures completed by parents when children were age 14 months, age 2 years, and age 3 years. Results showed bidirectional pathways between maternal depressed mood and child cognition, but a unidirectional pathway from child cognition to paternal depressed mood. Family conflict mediated links between greater maternal depressed mood and poorer child cognition, but negative maternal parenting mediated links between poorer child cognition and negative maternal depressed mood. Results highlight transactional relations among parents and children as well as the salience of family conflict and negative parenting in exacerbating this transaction.