Mechanisms of Risk in Children of Depressed Mothers

描述(由申请人提供)：尽管母婴抑郁症之间的联系已经很好地建立起来了，但人们对这种风险产生的机制知之甚少。这项拟议的研究旨在通过评估将母婴抑郁联系在一起的病因模型来解决这一差距。在这样做的过程中，我们将寻求整合和扩展来自两个不同研究方向的发现--表达的情绪和对抑郁的认知易感性文献。拟议的研究涉及对母亲及其子女(8-12岁)的横断面评估。这项研究将招募两组母亲：(A)在孩子一生中有严重抑郁障碍(MDD)病史的母亲和(B)没有任何DSM-IV轴I障碍的终生病史的母亲。在测试我们的模型时，我们假设母亲对孩子表达的情绪批评水平，以及孩子的负面认知风格，将在母亲的诊断状态(抑郁与非临床对照)与儿童的抑郁症状和诊断之间起到中介作用。这项拟议研究的第二个目标是检查中介模型中与儿童抑郁和其他障碍(例如，焦虑和破坏性行为障碍)之间的联系的特殊性。

Description (provided by applicant): Although the link between maternal and child depression is well established, little is known about the mechanism by which this risk is conferred. The proposed study is designed to address this gap by evaluating an etiological model linking maternal and child depression. In so doing, we will seek to integrate and extend findings from two separate lines of research - the expressed emotion and cognitive vulnerability to depression literatures. The proposed study involves the cross-sectional assessment of mothers and their children (ages 8-12 years). Two groups of mothers will be recruited for the study: (a) those with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) during their child's life and (b) those with no lifetime history of any DSM-IV Axis I disorder. In testing our model, we hypothesize that mothers' levels of expressed emotion-criticism toward their children, as well as children's negative cognitive styles, will mediate the link between maternal diagnostic status (depressed versus nonclinical control) and children's symptoms and diagnoses of depression. A secondary goal of the proposed study is to examine the specificity of the links in the mediational model to children's depression versus other disorders (e.g., anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders).