Maternal Depression and the Development of Autobiographical Memory in Children

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ABSTRACT Children of depressed mothers are at significant risk for depression and other psychiatric disorders, poor social and emotional adjustment, and increased problem behaviors. Given the significant negative personal and social consequences of depression, it is important to gain an understanding of early risk mechanisms that lead to adverse child outcomes. The proposed study examines the patterns of autobiographical memory retrieval in young children of depressed mothers that may contribute to their vulnerabilities to depression. Although past research has focused on overgeneral autobiographical memory as a potential marker of vulnerability to depression in adults, little is known about how this problematic memory retrieval pattern emerges and develops, and how overgeneral autobiographical memory is related to future problems in children. In the proposed study, 3.5- to 4-year-old children of depressed (n = 60) and nondepressed (n = 60) mothers will be recruited and followed over a 9-month period. We seek to understand 1) how maternal factors (maternal depression, overgeneral autobiographical memory, reminiscing quality) and child factors (self-representation, executive function, and gender) affect children’s autobiographical memory specificity; 2) how children’s overgeneral autobiographical memory predicts early markers of childhood depression; and 3) whether child overgeneral autobiographical memory mediates the link between maternal factors and early markers of childhood depression. Should the goals of this study be met, the findings would be informative to early prevention efforts in reducing the risk for adverse outcomes among children of depressed mothers.