Maternal Depression and Child and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: a Propensity Score Matching Approach
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Maternal Depression and Child and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: a Propensity Score Matching Approach Bridget Joyner 1
& Kevin M. Beaver
1,2
Accepted: 30 August 2020/ # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
Prior studies have consistently revealed that maternal depression is significantly associated with children exhibiting higher levels of internalizing problem behaviors and externalizing problem behaviors. However, there is reason to believe that prior research may have suffered from model misspecification and confounding that biased the conclusions drawn from these studies. We use this possibility as the foundation for our analyses that examine the potential association between maternal depression and child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors while addressing the methodological limitations of previous research. To do so, we analyzed data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and used propensity score matching. The analyses revealed significant differences between depressed and non-depressed mothers that, once accounted for, significantly impacted the revealed associations between maternal depression and child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Although the significant relationship with child internalizing problem behaviors remained in all of the crosssectional and longitudinal models post-matching, once the mothers were properly matched, the significant relationship between maternal depression and child externalizing problem behaviors disappeared at Wave 3. We conclude by discussing the implications and limitations of our study as well as considerations for future research. Keywords Maternal depression . Child internalizing problem behaviors . Child externalizing problem behaviors . Propensity score matching An estimated 17.3 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in 2017, making depression one of the most prevalent health disorders [52]. Although
* Bridget Joyner [email protected]
1
College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 112 S. Copeland St, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
2
Prince Mishaal bin Majed bin Abdul Aziz Center for Social and Humanities Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Psychiatric Quarterly
depression is common in both sexes, females are considerably more likely than males to be diagnosed as clinically depressed [52]. Between 30 and 40% of women in the United States meet the criteria as having a lifetime depressive disorder [37] and an additional 17% of women will experience a major depressive episode in their life [33], especially during or after pregnancy [26]. For this reason, there has been a considerable amount of research examining whether, and to what extent, maternal depression can influence the rest of the household, particularly the children. Findings from these studies have generally revealed that children of depressed mothers are more likely to display a full range of problem behaviors [34]. Although r
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