Citation

Shay NL, Knutson JF. Child Maltreat. 2008; 13(1): 39-49.

Affiliation

University of Iowa, IA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559507310611

PMID

18174347

PMCID

PMC2367119

Abstract

To test the hypothesized anger-mediated relation between maternal depression and escalation of physical discipline, 122 economically disadvantaged mothers were assessed for current and lifetime diagnoses of depression using the Current Depressive Episode, Past Depression, and Dysthymia sections of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and a measure of current depressive symptoms, the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). Escalation of physical discipline was assessed using a video analog parenting task; maternal anger not specific to discipline was assessed using the Spielberger Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Reports of anger were associated with the diagnosis of depression and depressive symptoms. Bootstrap analyses of indirect effects indicated that the link between depression and escalated discipline was mediated by anger. Parallel analyses based on BDI-II scores identified a marginally significant indirect effect of depression on discipline. Findings suggest that anger and irritability are central to the putative link between depression and harsh discipline.

Language: en