The Relation Between Parental Guilt Induction and Child Internalizing Outcomes

University Of Vermont & St Agric College, Burlington VT

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goal of the present NRSA proposal is to define empirical linkages between parental depression, parental guilt induction, and internalizing outcomes in children. To this end, the current proposal will initially validate a child self-report measure of parental guilt induction, and develop a parent-child observational coding system of parental guilt induction. Through the use of structural equation modeling, the specific aims of this study are thus (1) to test whether parental guilt induction, measured by both child report and behavioral observation of parent-child interactions, mediates the relationship between parental depression and child internalizing outcomes; and (2) to examine whether parental guilt induction serves as a significant and distinctive parenting construct from other negative parenting behaviors (i.e., intrusive and withdrawn parenting). [unreadable] There is a long history demonstrating that inadequate parent management skills contribute to the development of externalizing problems. In contrast, substantially less is known about how such skills contribute to internalizing problems. The specific parenting behaviors that form the pathway between maternal depression and child internalizing problems have not been identified. The proposed study will examine if parental guilt induction may be such a pathway. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]