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Who were the investigators, and what was the aim of the study? When…
Who were the investigators, and what was the aim of the study? When mothers are depressed, they don’t parent effectively. However, this might not be due to depression per se because the same factors that put women at risk for experiencing postpartum depressionfor example, being single, lacking social support, and experiencing stressmay contribute to their ineffective parenting. Edward Barker and his colleagues (Barker et al., 2012) hoped to better understand how maternal depression affects children’s development.
How did the investigators measure the topic of interest? Barker and colleagues were interested in three variables: maternal depression, maternal risk factors associated with depression that might impair children’s development, and children’s behavioral problems. They measured the first two with questionnaires: When children were 1½ years old, moms completed a depression questionnaire; at various points between birth and their child’s second birthday, moms completed questionnaires measuring exposure to risk factors such as being single, being exposed to stressful events such as cruelty from a partner, and having an inadequate support network. When children were 7 or 8 years old, their behavioral problems were diagnosed by experienced clinicians from teachers’ and parents’ reports of children’s behavior.
Who were the participants in the study? The sample was drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a project conducted in England that investigates children’s health and development. Data on all three variables were available for 7,429 mothers and children.
What was the design of the study? The study was correlational because the investigators were interested in relations that existed naturally among depression, risk factors, and children’s problem behaviors. The study was longitudinal because children and parents were tested multiple times (and are still being tested as the study is ongoing).
Were there ethical concerns with the study? No. The measures were ones commonly used with parents and children; they posed no known risks. The investigators obtained permission from the parents and their children to participate.
What were the results? Using the mothers’ replies to the depression questionnaire, Barker and his colleagues distinguished moms who had been depressed when their child was 1½ years old from moms who were not depressed. Then they compared rates of behavioral problems in children of the two groups of moms. For each of the five disorders, 7- and 8-year-olds were much more likely to have behavioral problems if their mom had been depressed, and overall, they were 2.56 times more likely to have problems. Next, Barker and his colleagues confirmed that, as expected, risk rates were greater for depressed moms. For example, depressed moms were five times more likely to have experienced cruelty from a partner and four times more likely to have inadequate support. Nevertheless, when these differences in exposure to risk were equated statistically, children with depressed moms were still 1.92 times more likely to have behavioral problems.
What did the investigators conclude? The depression that some women experience following birth child influences children in two ways. One is that depression symptoms per se are harmful for children: Depressed moms are less able to parent effectively, and this may lead to behavioral problems. A second path is that the same factors that put moms at risk for depression (e.g., inadequate support) can impair a child’s development, perhaps because they lead moms to parent less effectively.
What converging evidence would strengthen these conclusions? These findings are based largely on mothers’ reports of their depression, their risk factors, and their children’s behavior. It would be valuable to have independent estimates of these variables (e.g., observation of children’s antisocial behavior that contributes to the diagnosis of conduct disorder). In addition, nearly one third of the mothers dropped out of the study, and those dropping out were more likely to have been exposed to risk. The present findings would be strengthened if they were replicated in a sample that was more stable over time.
The emotional distress that some mothers feel after giving birth creates a situation that may impact their parenting skills and their children’s behavior later in life. The researchers of this study examined how this condition, called __________, affects problematic behaviors in children.
a. postpartum psychosis
b. depression with seasonal onset
c. melancholia
d. postpartum depression
Who were the investigators, and what was the aim of the study? When mothers are depressed, they don’t parent effectively. However, this might not be due to depression per se because the same factors that put women at risk for experiencing postpartum depressionfor example, being single, lacking social support, and experiencing stressmay contribute to their ineffective parenting. Edward Barker and his colleagues (Barker et al., 2012) hoped to better understand how maternal depression affects children’s development.
How did the investigators measure the topic of interest? Barker and colleagues were interested in three variables: maternal depression, maternal risk factors associated with depression that might impair children’s development, and children’s behavioral problems. They measured the first two with questionnaires: When children were 1½ years old, moms completed a depression questionnaire; at various points between birth and their child’s second birthday, moms completed questionnaires measuring exposure to risk factors such as being single, being exposed to stressful events such as cruelty from a partner, and having an inadequate support network. When children were 7 or 8 years old, their behavioral problems were diagnosed by experienced clinicians from teachers’ and parents’ reports of children’s behavior.
Who were the participants in the study? The sample was drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a project conducted in England that investigates children’s health and development. Data on all three variables were available for 7,429 mothers and children.
What was the design of the study? The study was correlational because the investigators were interested in relations that existed naturally among depression, risk factors, and children’s problem behaviors. The study was longitudinal because children and parents were tested multiple times (and are still being tested as the study is ongoing).
Were there ethical concerns with the study? No. The measures were ones commonly used with parents and children; they posed no known risks. The investigators obtained permission from the parents and their children to participate.
What were the results? Using the mothers’ replies to the depression questionnaire, Barker and his colleagues distinguished moms who had been depressed when their child was 1½ years old from moms who were not depressed. Then they compared rates of behavioral problems in children of the two groups of moms. For each of the five disorders, 7- and 8-year-olds were much more likely to have behavioral problems if their mom had been depressed, and overall, they were 2.56 times more likely to have problems. Next, Barker and his colleagues confirmed that, as expected, risk rates were greater for depressed moms. For example, depressed moms were five times more likely to have experienced cruelty from a partner and four times more likely to have inadequate support. Nevertheless, when these differences in exposure to risk were equated statistically, children with depressed moms were still 1.92 times more likely to have behavioral problems.
What did the investigators conclude? The depression that some women experience following birth child influences children in two ways. One is that depression symptoms per se are harmful for children: Depressed moms are less able to parent effectively, and this may lead to behavioral problems. A second path is that the same factors that put moms at risk for depression (e.g., inadequate support) can impair a child’s development, perhaps because they lead moms to parent less effectively.
What converging evidence would strengthen these conclusions? These findings are based largely on mothers’ reports of their depression, their risk factors, and their children’s behavior. It would be valuable to have independent estimates of these variables (e.g., observation of children’s antisocial behavior that contributes to the diagnosis of conduct disorder). In addition, nearly one third of the mothers dropped out of the study, and those dropping out were more likely to have been exposed to risk. The present findings would be strengthened if they were replicated in a sample that was more stable over time.
2. Barker and colleagues (2012) examined three different variables in their research study. They included all but which of the following?
a. maternal risk factors associated with depression that might impair children’s development
b. paternal drug and alcohol use during pregnancy
c. children’s behavioral problems
d. maternal depression
3. Who were the investigators, and what was the aim of the study? When mothers are depressed, they don’t parent effectively. However, this might not be due to depression per se because the same factors that put women at risk for experiencing postpartum depressionfor example, being single, lacking social support, and experiencing stressmay contribute to their ineffective parenting. Edward Barker and his colleagues (Barker et al., 2012) hoped to better understand how maternal depression affects children’s development.
How did the investigators measure the topic of interest? Barker and colleagues were interested in three variables: maternal depression, maternal risk factors associated with depression that might impair children’s development, and children’s behavioral problems. They measured the first two with questionnaires: When children were 1½ years old, moms completed a depression questionnaire; at various points between birth and their child’s second birthday, moms completed questionnaires measuring exposure to risk factors such as being single, being exposed to stressful events such as cruelty from a partner, and having an inadequate support network. When children were 7 or 8 years old, their behavioral problems were diagnosed by experienced clinicians from teachers’ and parents’ reports of children’s behavior.
Who were the participants in the study? The sample was drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a project conducted in England that investigates children’s health and development. Data on all three variables were available for 7,429 mothers and children.
4. What was the design of the study? The study was correlational because the investigators were interested in relations that existed naturally among depression, risk factors, and children’s problem behaviors. The study was longitudinal because children and parents were tested multiple times (and are still being tested as the study is ongoing).
5. Who were the investigators, and what was the aim of the study? When mothers are depressed, they don’t parent effectively. However, this might not be due to depression per se because the same factors that put women at risk for experiencing postpartum depressionfor example, being single, lacking social support, and experiencing stressmay contribute to their ineffective parenting. Edward Barker and his colleagues (Barker et al., 2012) hoped to better understand how maternal depression affects children’s development.
How did the investigators measure the topic of interest? Barker and colleagues were interested in three variables: maternal depression, maternal risk factors associated with depression that might impair children’s development, and children’s behavioral problems. They measured the first two with questionnaires: When children were 1½ years old, moms completed a depression questionnaire; at various points between birth and their child’s second birthday, moms completed questionnaires measuring exposure to risk factors such as being single, being exposed to stressful events such as cruelty from a partner, and having an inadequate support network. When children were 7 or 8 years old, their behavioral problems were diagnosed by experienced clinicians from teachers’ and parents’ reports of children’s behavior.
Who were the participants in the study? The sample was drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a project conducted in England that investigates children’s health and development. Data on all three variables were available for 7,429 mothers and children.
What was the design of the study? The study was correlational because the investigators were interested in relations that existed naturally among depression, risk factors, and children’s problem behaviors. The study was longitudinal because children and parents were tested multiple times (and are still being tested as the study is ongoing).
Were there ethical concerns with the study? No. The measures were ones commonly used with parents and children; they posed no known risks. The investigators obtained permission from the parents and their children to participate.
What were the results? Using the mothers’ replies to the depression questionnaire, Barker and his colleagues distinguished moms who had been depressed when their child was 1½ years old from moms who were not depressed. Then they compared rates of behavioral problems in children of the two groups of moms. For each of the five disorders, 7- and 8-year-olds were much more likely to have behavioral problems if their mom had been depressed, and overall, they were 2.56 times more likely to have problems. Next, Barker and his colleagues confirmed that, as expected, risk rates were greater for depressed moms. For example, depressed moms were five times more likely to have experienced cruelty from a partner and four times more likely to have inadequate support. Nevertheless, when these differences in exposure to risk were equated statistically, children with depressed moms were still 1.92 times more likely to have behavioral problems.
What did the investigators conclude? The depression that some women experience following birth child influences children in two ways. One is that depression symptoms per se are harmful for children: Depressed moms are less able to parent effectively, and this may lead to behavioral problems. A second path is that the same factors that put moms at risk for depression (e.g., inadequate support) can impair a child’s development, perhaps because they lead moms to parent less effectively.
What converging evidence would strengthen these conclusions? These findings are based largely on mothers’ reports of their depression, their risk factors, and their children’s behavior. It would be valuable to have independent estimates of these variables (e.g., observation of children’s antisocial behavior that contributes to the diagnosis of conduct disorder). In addition, nearly one third of the mothers dropped out of the study, and those dropping out were more likely to have been exposed to risk. The present findings would be strengthened if they were replicated in a sample that was more stable over time.
James’s wife, Tanesha, is about to give birth to their first child. James wants he and his wife to be the best parents possible, and he is reading a lot about how to handle the challenges of being new parents. Based on the research of Barker and colleagues (2012), what is something James can do to help Tanesha be the best mother possible?
a. Work extra hours at his job so that the family has extra money to hire a live-in “Mommy’s Aid.”
b. Remember to encourage Tanesha to breastfeed the baby, even if she does not want to, since this predicts the strongest bond between a mother and baby.
c. Keep in mind that nobody but he or Tanesha should be involved in caring for the baby until the first birthday. This helps establish proper attachment relationships.
d. Provide a lot of support to her to help reduce her risk of developing depressive symptoms after the child is born
Were there ethical concerns with the study? No. The measures were ones commonly used with parents and children; they posed no known risks. The investigators obtained permission from the parents and their children to participate.
What were the results? Using the mothers’ replies to the depression questionnaire, Barker and his colleagues distinguished moms who had been depressed when their child was 1½ years old from moms who were not depressed. Then they compared rates of behavioral problems in children of the two groups of moms. For each of the five disorders, 7- and 8-year-olds were much more likely to have behavioral problems if their mom had been depressed, and overall, they were 2.56 times more likely to have problems. Next, Barker and his colleagues confirmed that, as expected, risk rates were greater for depressed moms. For example, depressed moms were five times more likely to have experienced cruelty from a partner and four times more likely to have inadequate support. Nevertheless, when these differences in exposure to risk were equated statistically, children with depressed moms were still 1.92 times more likely to have behavioral problems.
What did the investigators conclude? The depression that some women experience following birth child influences children in two ways. One is that depression symptoms per se are harmful for children: Depressed moms are less able to parent effectively, and this may lead to behavioral problems. A second path is that the same factors that put moms at risk for depression (e.g., inadequate support) can impair a child’s development, perhaps because they lead moms to parent less effectively.
What converging evidence would strengthen these conclusions? These findings are based largely on mothers’ reports of their depression, their risk factors, and their children’s behavior. It would be valuable to have independent estimates of these variables (e.g., observation of children’s antisocial behavior that contributes to the diagnosis of conduct disorder). In addition, nearly one third of the mothers dropped out of the study, and those dropping out were more likely to have been exposed to risk. The present findings would be strengthened if they were replicated in a sample that was more stable over time.
Why would it be accurate to describe this study as having a longitudinal design?
a. Different groups of participants of different ages were all assessed once, at the same time.
b. The same participants were assessed repeatedly over a long period of time.
c. The study did not rely on the use of statistical analysis for the determination of relevant conclusions
d. There was an independent variable that was manipulated and a dependent variable that was measured.
