ABSTRACT
Maternal depression has been linked to deficits in parenting that contribute to youth's development of externalizing and/or internalizing problems. Maternal sensitivity has been implicated within the infant literature as a foundational aspect of parenting contributing to a child's adjustment. This study examines the main and moderating effects of a construct labeled maternal sensitivity, within the context of depressive symptoms, on youth externalizing and internalizing problems in a sample of 65 mothers with a history of depression and their 84 children ages 9-15 years. Sensitivity was related to child externalizing problems. Although two-way interactions were not significant, exploratory moderation analyses indicated a significant three-way interaction among maternal depressive symptoms, maternal sensitivity, and youth gender for internalizing problems: among girls only, high depressive symptoms, low sensitivity, and the combination of these two variables were each associated with high levels of internalizing problems.
