2.41 PARENTAL DEPRESSIVE HISTORY, PARENTING STYLES, AND CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OVER SIX YEARS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF EACH PARENT'S DEPRESSIVE HISTORY TO THE OTHER'S PARENTING STYLES

Objectives: The link between parental depressive history and parenting is well established, as is the association of parenting with child psychopathology. However, little research has examined whether a depressive history in one parent predicts the parenting of the other parent. In addition, relatively little research has tested transactional models of the parenting-child psychopathology relationship in the context of the depressive histories of both parents. Methods: In this study, mothers and fathers of 392 children were assessed for a lifetime history of major depression when their children were age three years. They then completed measures of their parenting (permissiveness and authoritarianism) and their child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms when children were ages three, six, and nine years. Results: Results showed that a depressive history in one parent predicted the parenting behaviors of the other parent, over and above that parent's own depressive history. Mediation analyses then showed transactional relationships between parenting and child psychopathology, in particular between parenting and child externalizing symptoms. No relationships in either direction were found between parenting and child internalizing symptoms after adjusting for effects of externalizing symptoms. Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of considering both parents' depressive histories when understanding parenting behaviors and support transactional models of parenting and child externalizing symptoms.