Parental Depressive Symptoms, Parent Attributional Style, and Child Coping as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in Children of Parents with Anxiety or Mood Disorders

Abstract

Few studies have examined the effects of parental depressive symptoms on children in China. The present study examined the relationships between parental depression, parental attributional style, children’s coping strategies and 5–12-year-old children’s depressive symptoms in a sample of Chinese children whose parents had been diagnosed with an anxiety or a mood disorder. The present study confirmed that children of parents with anxiety or mood disorders would show high levels of depressive symptoms. Parents with an optimistic or neutral attributional style rated their children as showing fewer depressive symptoms than parents with a pessimistic style. This study showed a significant positive relationship between children’s disengagement coping and children’s reports of depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the need for early identification of, and support and intervention programs for, parents suffering from depression and children of depressed parents as a means of protecting the psychological well-being of both parents and children.