DEPRESSED MOTHERS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR PRESCHOOL CHILDRENS VULNERABILITY

''Depressed'' mothers who scored in the depression range on the Beck D epression Inventory when their infants were 3-months-old were asked to complete the Vulnerable Child Scale when their children were preschoo l age. Depressed versus non-depressed mothers rated their preschool ch ildren as being more vulnerable (as did an independent observer) as we ll as having more behavior problems. The vulnerability ratings were si gnificantly related to infancy stage measures including the POMS (moth ers' depressed mood), the infants' behavior ratings and heart rate ran ge during interactions with a nondepressed stranger. These measures of the mothers' and infants' behavior tapped during early infancy may ha ve contributed to the mothers having perceived their children as ''vul nerable'' during the preschool stage.