Maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing problems: The mediation of emotion socialization

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• Author: Taiane Lins,Patrícia Alvarenga,Sophie Havighurst,Antonio Carlos Santos da Silva
• Date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12756

RESEARCH

Maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing

problems: The mediation of emotion socialization

Taiane Lins

1

|Patrícia Alvarenga

1

|Sophie Havighurst

2

|

Antonio Carlos Santos da Silva

1

1

Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade Federal

da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil

2

Mindful: Centre for Training and Research in

Developmental Health, The University of

Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Correspondence

Taiane Lins, Instituto de Psicologia,

Universidade Federal da Bahia, 197 Aristides

Novis Street, Estrada de S˜ao L

azaro, Salvador/

BA, Brazil, 40210 630.

Email: lins.taiane@gmail.com

Funding information

This work was supported by the Coordenaç˜ao

de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível

Superior (CAPES/Brazil, Finance Code 001;

Programa Institucional de Bolsas de

Doutorado Sanduíche no Exterior –PDSE -

grant number 88881.135418/2016-01) and the

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento

Científico e Tecnol

ogico (CNPq/Brazil; grant

numbers 307263/2015 and 307391/2018-3).

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the mediation of mothers’

ratings of their maternal emotion socialization practices in the

relation between mothers’depressive symptoms and children’s

internalizing problems in a Brazilian community sample.

Background: Maternal depression and maternal emotion

socialization reactions contribute to children’s internaliz-

ing problems, but the mechanisms through which these

variables interact remain unclear.

Method: Participants were 153 mothers of children

between3and8 yearsold.TheCopingwithChildren’s

Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) evaluated mothers’

ratings of their emotion socialization practices, the Child

Behavior Checklist (CBCL) assessed children’s internaliz-

ing behaviors, and the Beck Depression Inventory I (BDI-

I) measured maternal depressive symptoms.

Results: Maternal ratings of non-supportive emotion

socialization reactions partially mediated the relation

between maternal depressive symptoms and children’s

internalizing problems. There were no effects of maternal

depressive symptoms on maternal supportive emotion

socialization reactions and child internalizing problems.

Conclusion: Early psychosocial interventions that reduce

non-supportive reactions to children’s emotions may be an

important way of assisting children in understanding and

managing their negative emotions.

KEYWORDS

childhood, emotion socialization, internalizing problems, maternal

depressive symptoms, mediation

Author note: This article is part of the PhD thesis of the first author, Taiane Lins. The thesis is entitled “O Impac to das Pr

aticas de

Socializaç˜ao Emocional sobre os Problemas Internalizantes na Infância”[The Impact of Emotion Socialization Practices on Children’s

Internalizing Problems].

Received: 13 October 2021Revised: 29 May 2022Accepted: 24 July 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12756

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:2123–2136. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2123