Feldman, Julia
(2019)
Direct Associations between Early Childhood Paternal Depression and School-Age Psychosocial and Academic Functioning, and the Potential Mediating Role of Father-Child Interaction.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The present study used a longitudinal design to test father-child interaction quality in the preschool period as a mediator between paternal depressive symptoms in toddlerhood and both academic and socioemotional maladjustment during the school-age period (n = 117, 52% female). Further, it aimed to assess child gender and maternal depressive symptoms as moderators of direct associations between paternal depressive symptoms and later child maladjustment. The sample represented a subsample of families from the Early Steps Multisite Study, which is a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up among a sample of 731, low-income, ethnically-diverse families using Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Services in three communities varied in urbanicity. Direct relations were not found between paternal depressive symptoms (age 2), observations of father-child interactions (age 3), and children’s school-age academic abilities on a standardized assessment (ages 7.5 and 8.5) and mother- and teacher-reported socioemotional maladjustment (ages 8.5 and 9.5). Further, there was no evidence for an indirect pathway from early paternal depressive symptoms to children’s school-age outcomes via negative father-child interactions. However, child gender was found to moderate relations between paternal depressive symptoms and children’s school-age internalizing symptoms as reported by mothers, such that this association was stronger for boys than girls. These findings have important implications for future research on preventing low-income boys’ school-age internalizing problems at home, suggesting that decreasing paternal depressive symptoms at age 2 may be an important intervention target to explore.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
20 September 2019 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
5 April 2019 |
| Approval Date: |
20 September 2019 |
| Submission Date: |
6 May 2019 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
59 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
father, father-child, depression, parenting, internalizing, externalizing, academic, longitudinal |
| Date Deposited: |
20 Sep 2019 18:39 |
| Last Modified: |
20 Sep 2019 18:39 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/36697 |
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