MATERNAL DEPRESSION AND MATERNAL TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS AS PREDICTORS OF CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Maternal treatment of sibling pairs with affectively ill and well moth ers was examined longitudinally in relation to child psychiatric statu s. Mothers and children in 77 families (34 unipolar, 16 bipolar, and 2 7 control mothers) were observed in interaction across early, middle, and late childhood and early adolescence. Interaction was assessed on dimensions of maternal engagement and critical-irritable behavior. The study examined the relative contributions of maternal depression, the quality of maternal treatment, and differential treatment of siblings to each child's psychiatric status. By maternal report, older sibling s' symptoms were predicted by maternal bipolar or unipolar illness; yo unger siblings' symptoms were predicted by lower maternal engagement a nd higher maternal critical-irritable behavior in early childhood, in addition to maternal affective illness. For the younger sibling, persi stent patterns of maternal treatment were also related to both materna l and child reports of problems.