MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE DISORDER AND CONTEXTUAL RISK - CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ATTACHMENT INSECURITY AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN TODDLERHOOD

Research has shown that offspring of depressed caregivers are at incre ased risk for maladaptive development and emotional difficulties. Spec ifically, infants and toddlers of depressed mothers have been shown to evidence higher percentages of insecure attachments and more behavior al difficulties than offspring of nondisordered mothers. However, even in studies that reveal significant differences between children of de pressed and nondepressed caregivers, a substantial number of children with depressed caregivers do not evidence dysfunction. Such findings h ave resulted in increased attention to the broader social context in w hich children of depressed mothers develop. This investigation examine d the direct influences of maternal depression on child development, a s well as the role of contextual risks that may be particularly height ened in families with depressed parents. Toddlers with depressed mothe rs evidenced significantly more insecure attachments than did toddlers with nondisordered mothers, and this difference was nor accounted for by contextual risk. In predicting child behavior problems, contextual risk was found to mediate the relation between maternal depression an d child behavior problems. Father-report data on child behavior corrob orated the mother report data. Results are discussed in terms of the d iversity of functioning in offspring of depressed caregivers that can be attributed to varied levels of contextual risk accompanying depress ion.