Gilliam, Mary
(2014)
EXPOSURE TO MATERNAL DEPRESSION DURING CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE AND PROBLEM BEHAVIOR IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A POSSIBLE MEDIATING ROLE FOR BRAIN STRUCTURE.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to advance our understanding of neurobiological processes related to the intergenerational transmission of behavior problems related to emotional dysregulation by examining whether earlier and/or more chronic exposure to maternal depression would be associated with increased depressive symptoms and reactive aggressive behaviors in young adult offspring, and whether individual differences in amygdala volume, hippocampal volume, and/or amygdala:hippocampus volume ratio would mediate this association. Results were mixed, indicating that maternal depression evident in early childhood or chronic maternal depression was positively associated with offspring depression and reactive aggression in early adulthood in some but not all cases. Maternal depression was not significantly associated with the volume of any individual brain regions in offspring, but was, in some analyses, significantly associated with larger amygdala:hippocampal volume ratios. Likewise, the volume of individual brain regions was not linked with concurrent young adult depression or reactive aggression, but amygdala:hippocampal volume ratio was linked to young adult reactive aggression. Results did not support a mediating role for any individual brain region in the associations found between maternal depression and offspring depression or reactive aggression, but did suggest a mediating role for offspring amygdala:hippocampal volume ratio in the association between maternal depression trajectory grouping and offspring reactive aggression in young adulthood. Findings support a role for relative amygdala and hippocampus size in the intergenerational transmission of problems related to emotion regulation.
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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Unpublished |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: |
27 January 2014 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
11 September 2013 |
| Approval Date: |
27 January 2014 |
| Submission Date: |
25 October 2013 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
73 |
| 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: |
maternal depression, depression, reactive aggression, brain structure, amygdala, hippocampus |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Jan 2014 16:55 |
| Last Modified: |
19 Dec 2016 14:41 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19887 |
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