Purpose of the present study

　The purpose of the present study includes: 1. To compare the differences of past experiences of childhood maltreatment on depressive and healthy control mothers. 2. To compare the differences of maternal child maltreating behaviours on children’s psychological outcomes between the two groups. 3. To examine the possible pathways of the influences of maternal psychopathology and child maltreating behaviours on children’s psychological outcomes.

Methods

　Participants: The participants were mother-offspring pairs with mothers who gave birth at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital Obstetrics Ward and took part in the National Science Council “Postpartum Depression 10-year Follow-up” research along with their child ten years ago. We recruited 155 mother-offspring pairs, but the overall valid sample was 59, of those 34 in the depression group and 25 in the control group. The average age of the mothers were 39 years old and the average age of the children were aged 9 years old.

　Measurements: The diagnosis of the psychopathology for the participants was carried out with the Mini-Schedule for the Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (Mini-SADS) and and Kiddie-Schedule for the Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS). The mother completed the self-report questionnaires of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), as well as the Childhood Maltreatment Questionnaire for the assessment of her past experiences of child maltreatment and her current behaviours of child maltreatment towards her offspring. On the other hand, the children also completed the self-report questionnaires of the Childhood Maltreatment Questionnaire for the assessment on their perceptions of being maltreated. Furthermore, the children completed the Child Behavioural and Emotional Checklist for depression (CBECL-D).

　Procedures: The participants were interviewed with mini-SADS and KSADS on the diagnosis of their current psychological health conditions and were separated into the two groups of study: depressed and control mothers. Apart from the interview, all child maltreatment questionnaires were taken back home for completion if unfinished during the given time.

Results

　With one-way ANOVA analysis, the results of the present study showed no significant differences found in mothers’ demographical characteristics between depressed and control mothers. However, mothers in the depression group reported higher on BDI and more experience of past emotional neglect than the control group. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis showed that maternal past experiences of emotional neglect was found to be able to predict her current depression.

　On the other hand, one-way ANOVA analyses showed no significant differences in children’s demographical characteristics, CBECL-D and Childhood Maltreatment Questionnaire between the offspring of depressed mothers and those of the control mothers. However, Pearson correlation analysis found a positive association between physical neglect and child depression for children with rating from children. On the other hand, maternal current emotional neglect was correlated with child depression in children with rating from mothers. Furthermore, multiple hierarchical regression analysis found that maternal emotional neglect behaviour could predict child depression with the ratings from mothers. On the contrary, physical neglect behaviour was found to be able to predict child depression in children with the ratings from children.

Discussion

　The present study found that mothers who were depressed tended to have been emotionally neglect by their own mothers in the past. Furthermore, with ratings from mothers, it was found that maternal current emotional neglect behaviours played an important role in the prediction of child depression in her offspring. On the other hand, perceived maternal physical neglect was found to be able to predict child depression by the ratings from children.

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