Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T08:50:57.643Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Depression and Perceptions of Early Parenting: a Longitudinal Investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Ian H. Gotlib*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario
John H. Mount
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario
Nikkie I. Cordy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, St Joseph's Hospital
Valerie E. Whiffen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario
*
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2

Abstract

It has been suggested that the quality of early parenting received by depressed adults is more negative than that received by non-depressed people. Since perceptions of parenting are usually examined only when subjects are depressed, depressed subjects' negative reports may be distortions due to their depression, rather than accurate recollections. In the present study, both depressed and remitted women reported experiencing greater parental overprotection than did non-depressed women, but only depressed subjects also reported less parental caring. The results are discussed with respect to the early experiences of depressed individuals, the distinction between parental caring and over protection, and the importance of interpersonal factors associated with depression.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrahams, J. M. & Whitlock, F. A. (1969) Childhood experience and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 883888.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A. T. (1967) Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F. & Emery, G. (1979) Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., Emery, G., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J. & Erbaugh, J. (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blatt, S. J., Wein, S. J., Chevron, E. & Quinlan, D. M. (1979) Parental representations and depression in normal young adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 388397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bower, G. H. (1981) Mood and memory. American Psychologist, 36, 129148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G.W. & Harris, T. O. (1978) Social Origins of Depression. London: Free Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Brown, G.W., Harris, T. O. & Bifulco, A. (1986) Long-term effects of early loss of parent. In Depression in Young People: Developmental and Clinical Perspectives (eds M. Rutter, C. E. Izard & P. B. Read). New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bumberry, W., Oliver, J. M. & McClure, J. (1978) Validation of the Beck Depression Inventory in a university population using psychiatric estimate as a criterion. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 150155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crook, T. & Eliot, J. (1980) Parental death during childhood and adult depression. Psychological Bulletin, 87, 252259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crook, T., Eliot, J., Raskin, A. & Eliot, J. (1981) Parent-child relationships and adult depression. Child Development, 52, 950957.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gotlib, I. H. (1981) Self-reinforcement and recall: differential deficits in depressed and nondepressed psychiatric patients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 521530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gotlib, I. H. (1983) Perception and recall of interpersonal feedback: negative bias in depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7, 399412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gotlib, I. H. (1984) Depression and general psychopathology in university students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 1930.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gotlib, I. H. & Cane, D. B. (1987) Construct accessibility and clinical depression: a longitudinal perspective. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 199204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gotlib, I. H., Cane, D. B. & Colby, C. A. (1987) Treatment of Depression: an Interpersonal Systems Approach. New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Jacobson, S., Fasman, J. & Dimascio, A. (1975) Deprivation in the childhood of depressed women. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 160, 513.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klerman, G. L., Weissman, M. M., Rounsaville, B. J. & Chevron, E. (1984) Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Oliver, J. M. & Simmons, M. E. (1984) Depression as measured by the DSM-III and the Beck Depression Inventory in an imselected adult population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 892898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, G. (1979a) Parental characteristics in relation to depressive disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 138147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, G. (1979b) Reported parental characteristics in relation to trait depression and anxiety levels in a non-clinical group. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 13, 260264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, G. (1981) Parental reports of depressives: an investigation of several explanations. Journal of Affective Disorders, 3, 131140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, G. (1983) Parental ‘affectionless control’ as an antecedent to adult depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 956960.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, G. & Lipscombe, P. (1981) Influences on maternal overprotection. British Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 303311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, G., Lipscombe, P., Tupling, H., & Brown, L. B. (1979) A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perris, C. (1966) A study of bipolar and unipolar recurrent depressive psychosis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 194, Suppl., 189.Google Scholar
Perris, C., Arrindell, W. A., Perris, H., Eisemann, M., van der Ende, J. & von Knorring, L. (1986) Perceived depriving parental rearing and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 170175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raskin, A., Boothe, H. H., Reatic, N. A., Schultcrbrandt, J. G. &. Odle, D. (1971). Factor analyses of normal and depressed patients' memories of parental behavior. Psychological Reports, 29, 871879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.