Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T02:39:12.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mother-child dynamics in early-onset depression and childhood schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

William L. Cook*
Affiliation:
Division of Child Development and Family Relationships, The University of Texas, Austin
Joan R. Asarnow
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute
Michael J. Goldstein
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
Valerie G. Marshall
Affiliation:
Los Angeles, CA
Edith Weber
Affiliation:
Los Angeles, CA
*
Address reprint requests to: William L. Cook, Divison of Child Development and Family Relationships, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 787121097.

Abstract

Family interaction patterns were compared for children with depressive disorders and children with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Results indicated that compared to SSD children, depressed children were less positive and more negative when interacting with their mothers. Additionally, depressed children did not significantly reciprocate positive or negative statements initiated by their mothers, whereas reciprocity of both positiveness and negativeness was a significant characteristic of the SSD children. While no between group differences were found in the base rates of mothers' positive and negative responses, mothers of SSD children were more likely than mothers of depressed children to reciprocate child negativeness. Maternal reciprocity of positive statements, while not discriminating diagnostic groups, was a significant characteristic only of mothers of depressed children. The implications of these results for theories of developmental psychopathology are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allison, P. D., & Liker, J. K. (1982). Analyzing sequential categorical data on dyadic interaction: A comment on Gottman. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 393403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alloy, L. B., & Abramson, L. Y. (1979). Judgment of contingency in depressed and nondepressed students: Sadder but wiser? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 11141126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altman, E. O., & Gotlib, I. H. (1988). The social behavior of depressed children: An observational study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 2944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asarnow, J. R. (1988). Peer Status and social competence in child psychiatric inpatients: A comparison of children with depressive disorders, externalizing disorders, and concurrent depressive and externalizing disorders. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 151162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asarnow, J. R., & Ben-Meir, S. (1987). Children with schizophrenia spectrum and depressive disorders: A comparative study of onset patterns, premorbid adjustment, and severity of dysfunction. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 477488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asarnow, J. R., & Carlson, G. (1985). The Depression Self-Rating Scale: Utility with child psychiatric in-patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 491499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asarnow, J. R., Goldstein, M. J., & Ben-Meir, S. (1988). Parental communication deviance in childhood onset schizophrenia spectrum and depressive disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29(6), 825838.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asarnow, J. R., Goldstein, M. J., Carlson, G. A., Perdue, S., Bates, S., & Keller, J. (1988). Childhood-onset depressive disorders: A follow-up study of rates of rehospitalization and out-of-home placement among child psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 15, 245253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blechman, E. A., McEnroe, M. J., Carella, E. T., & Audette, D. P. (1986). Childhood competence and depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 223227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., Birley, J. L. T., & Wing, J. K. (1972). Influence of family life on the course of schizophrenic disorders: A replication. British Journal of Psychiatry, 121, 241258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bugental, D. B., Blue, J., & Cruzcosa, M. (1989). Perceived control over caregiving outcomes: Implications for child abuse. Developmental Psychology, 25, 532539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, D. A., & Rehm, L. P. (1986). Family interaction patterns and childhood depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 297314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, W. L., Strachan, A. M., Goldstein, M. J., & Miklowitz, D. J. (1989). Expressed emotion and reciprocal affective relationships in families of disturbed adolescents. Family Process, 28, 337348.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dix, T., Ruble, D. N., Grusec, J. E., & Nixon, S. (1986). Social cognition in parents: Inferential and affective reactions to children of three age levels. Child Development, 57, 879894.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doane, J. A., West, K. L., Goldstein, M. J., Rodnick, E. H., & Jones, J. E. (1981). Parental communication deviance and affective style: Predictors of subsequent schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 679685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doane, J. A., West, K. L., Goldstein, M. J., Rodnick, E. H., & Jones, J. E. (1981). Parental affective style and communication deviance as predictors of subsequent schizophrenia spectrum disorders in vulnerable adolescents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 679685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elliot, G. C. (1988). Interpreting higher-order interactions in log-linear analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 121130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Endicott, J., Spitzer, R. L., Fleiss, J. L., & Cohen, J. (1976). The Global Assessment Scale: A procedure for measuring overall severity of psychiatric disturbance. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 766771.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincham, F. D., & Cain, K. M. (1986). Learned helplessness in humans: A developmental analysis. Developmental Review, 6, 301333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, M. J. (1987). Family interaction patterns that antedate the onset of schizophrenia and related disorders: A further analysis of data from a longitudinal prospective study. In Hahlweg, K. & Goldstein, M. J. (Eds.), Understanding major mental disorder: The contribution of family interaction research. New York: Family Process Press.Google Scholar
Goldstein, M. J., Rodnick, E. H., Jones, J. E., McPherson, S., & West, K. L. (1978). Familial precursors of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In Wynne, L., Cromwell, R. L., & Matthysse, S. (Eds.), The nature of schizophrenia. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Gottman, J., & Notarius, C. Sequential analysis of observational data using Markov chains. In Kratochwill, T. (Ed.), Strategies to evaluate change in single-subject research. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Hahlweg, K., Reisner, L., Kohli, G., Vollmer, M., Schindler, L., & Revenstorf, D. (1984). Development and validity of a new system to analyze interpersonal communication [KPI: Kategoriensystem fur partnerschaftliche Interaktion]. In Hahlweg, K. & Jacobson, N. S. (Eds.), Marital interaction: Analysis and modification. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Hooley, J. M. (1987). The nature and origins of expressed emotion. In Hahlweg, K. & Goldstein, M. J. (Eds.), Understanding major mental disorder: The contribution of family interaction research. New York: Family Process Press.Google Scholar
Hooley, J. M., Orley, J., & Teasdale, J. D. (1986). Levels of expressed emotion and relapse in depressed patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 642647.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazdin, A. E., Esveldt-Dawson, R., Sherick, R. B., & Colbus, D. (1985). Assessment of overt behavior and childhood depression among psychiatrically disturbed children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 201210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M. (1989). Affective disorders in childhood and adolescence. American Psychologist, 44, 209215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kovacs, M., Feinberg, T. L., Crouse-Novak, M. A., Paulauskas, S. L., & Finkelstein, R. (1984a). Depressive disorders in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 229237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M., Feinberg, T. L., Crouse-Novak, M. A., Paulauskas, S. L., Pollock, M., & Finkelstein, R. (1984b). Depressive disorders in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 643649.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kydd, R. R., & Werry, J. S. (1982). Schizophrenia in children under 16 years. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 12, 343357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lefkowitz, M. M., & Tesiny, E. P. (1980). Assessment of childhood depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, 4350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewinsohn, P. M., Hoberman, H. M., Teri, L., & Hautzinger, M. (1985). An integrative theory of depression. In Reiss, S. & Bootzin, R. R. (Eds.), Theoretical issues in behavior therapy (pp. 331359). Orlando, FL: Academic.Google Scholar
Puig-Antich, J., Lukens, E., Davies, M., Goetz, D., Brennan-Quattrock, J., & Todak, G. (1985). Psychological functioning in prepubertal major depressive disorders–I. Interpersonal relationships during the depressive episode. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 500510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puig-Antich, J., Orvaschel, H., Tabrizi, M., & Chambers, W. J. (1983). Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children–Epidemiological Version. Unpublished manuscript. New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York.Google Scholar
Russell, A. T., Bott, L., & Sammons, C. (1986). The phenomenology of childhood schizophrenia. Presentation at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Valone, K. (1983). Patient coping style manual. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Vaughn, C. E., & Leff, J. P. (1976a). The measurement of expressed emotion in the families of psychiatric patients. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 15, 157165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaughn, C. E., & Leff, J. P. (1976b). The influence of family and social factors on the course of psychiatric illness: A comparison of schizophrenic and depressed neurotic patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 129, 125137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vosk, B., Forehand, R., Parker, J. B., & Richard, K. (1982). A multimethod comparison of popular and unpopular children. Developmental Psychology, 18, 571575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, G. J. (1984). Community and interpersonal functioning in the course of schizophrenic disorders. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 10, 233257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, J. S. (1979). Perception of contingency as a determinant of social responsiveness. In Thoman, E. B. & Trotter, S. (Eds.), The origins of the infant's social responsiveness (pp. 3364). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1974). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar