Parenting during early adolescence and adolescent-onset major depression: A 6-year prospective longitudinal study

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the prospective relationship between maternal behaviors observed during mother-adolescent interactions and the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) between early and late adolescence (ages 12-18). Maternal expressions of emotion and maternal responses to their child's expressions of emotion were both examined. Results demonstrated that higher rates of maternal aggressive behavior and lower rates of maternal positive behavior prospectively predicted MDD onset across adolescence. In addition, negative (i.e., aggressive and dysphoric) maternal responses to adolescents' aggressive and positive behaviors predicted MDD onset. Maternal dysphoric behavior and the w..