Identifier

etd-11042016-160855

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Theoretical models of childhood psychopathology suggest that the parent-child relationship serves an influential role in the development and maintenance of internalizing disorders such as anxiety and depression. However, there is a great deal of inconsistency in the research literature on the predictive power of parenting variables such as parental control and parental care. Furthermore, these parenting variables are often poorly defined and inconsistently operationalized across studies, hampering interpretation of results and limiting conclusions on the strength of the effect. Additionally, few studies have examined the role of parenting with careful attention to moderators. In order to investigate these problems, 189 mother-child dyads (children between the ages of 8 and 16) from an existing database were analyzed. The relationships between maternal care, maternal control, child anxiety, and child depression were examined with maternal stress, child age, child gender, and child ethnicity as moderators. In summary, child age emerged as a nonspecific predictor of child anxiety (B=-.218, t(187)= -3.054, p=.003) and a significant moderator of the relationship between child anxiety and maternal care (ΔR2 = .045, F(3, 185) = 6.627, p <.001); less maternal care was associated with higher anxiety for younger children. Additionally, child gender trended significance as a nonspecific predictor of child anxiety (B=.140, t(187)= 1.930, p=.054) and of child depression (B=.140, t(187)= 1.940, p=.054), with females exhibiting higher anxiety and depression than males. This research may inform future evidence-based assessments and treatments through identification of potential pathways to child psychopathology.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Secure the entire work for patent and/or proprietary purposes for a period of one year. Student has submitted appropriate documentation which states: During this period the copyright owner also agrees not to exercise her/his ownership rights, including public use in works, without prior authorization from LSU. At the end of the one year period, either we or LSU may request an automatic extension for one additional year. At the end of the one year secure period (or its extension, if such is requested), the work will be released for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Davis, Thompson

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.4460

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Psychology Commons

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