Thesis
THE RELATION BETWEEN MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PARENT-TEACHER REPORTING DISCREPANCY: EVALUATING PARENTING BEHAVIORS AND ENVIRONMENT AS RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
01/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000003350
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/122489
Abstract
Discrepancy among informant reporting can have significant implications on intervention and diagnostic/clinical decisions. The nature in which parental behaviors and family dynamics may impact the relation between maternal depression and informant discrepancies in reporting child behavior and temperament has not yet been investigated. Using an archival dataset, participants included 50 female caregivers who had children (ages 3 to 6 years) attending a Head Start preschool and 51 female caregivers who had children in the same age range attending a non-Head Start preschool. Both mothers and teachers completed measures assessing the variables of interest. First, it was expected that the Head Start group would have higher levels of maternal depression, home chaos, negative parenting behaviors, child internalizing symptoms, child externalizing symptoms, and negative affectivity as well as lower positive parenting behaviors, surgency, and effortful control based on both parent and teacher report. Additionally, it was expected that maternal depressive symptoms would positively relate to parent-teacher discrepancy on internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and negative affectivity, whereas it would negatively relate to parent-teacher discrepancy on surgency and effortful control. It was expected that positive parenting behaviors would attenuate the relation between depressive symptoms and discrepancy, whereas home chaos and negative parenting behaviors would exacerbate that relation. To address the existing literature’s mixed findings on the role of SES in over-reporting biases, the present study examined type of preschool (Head Start vs. non-Head Start) as a moderator of the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and discrepancy. Results yielded several significant correlations among variables of interest. Maternal depressive symptoms significantly predicted only internalizing discrepancy, which additionally held when accounting individually for home chaos, negative parenting, positive parenting, and preschool type. Depressive symptoms also marginally related to externalizing discrepancy at the zero-order level. Positive parenting positively correlated with externalizing discrepancy and effortful control discrepancy. Among explored moderators of the relation between depressive symptoms and discrepancy, only the interaction between preschool type and depressive symptoms marginally predicted effortful control discrepancy. Though the selected variables neither attenuated nor strengthened the relation between depressive symptoms and parent-teacher discrepancy, the current findings warrant several areas for future directions.
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- Title
- THE RELATION BETWEEN MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PARENT-TEACHER REPORTING DISCREPANCY: EVALUATING PARENTING BEHAVIORS AND ENVIRONMENT AS RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS
- Creators
- Sarah Boland
- Contributors
- Tammy D. Barry (Advisor)Christopher T. Barry (Committee Member)Maria Gartstein (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Psychology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 79
- Identifiers
- 99900652204301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis