Cognitive-Affective Pathways to Child Depressive and Anxious Symptoms: Role of Children's Discipline Attributions

Overview

Journal Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

Specialties Pediatrics
Psychiatry

Date 2018 Jul 19

PMID 30019223

Citations 1

Authors

Christina M Rodriguez

Doris F Pu

Ashley R Foiles

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Children's maladaptive cognitive attributions may elicit affective reactions that contribute to depressive and anxious symptoms. This study investigated cognitive-affective pathways in depressive and anxious symptoms in a sample of 110 prepubertal children, evaluating children's specific appraisals of experiences of parental discipline as well as general attributional style, along with their hopelessness, self-esteem, and shame. Pathways toward depressive and anxious symptoms were tested simultaneously to identify potential unique etiological mechanisms. Results suggested that lower self-esteem strongly contributed to depressive and anxious symptoms, whereas shame related to depression only and hopelessness related to depression only marginally. Additionally, general negative attributional style and low sense of control over discipline related to all three affective elements. Lastly, low sense of discipline control directly predicted depressive symptoms, whereas beliefs that discipline was undeserved directly predicted anxious symptoms. Future work should continue to examine the role of children's discipline-specific attributions, which appear important in internalizing symptoms.

Citing Articles

Mediators between Positive and Negative Parenting and Child Depressive and Anxious Symptoms: Findings from a Diverse, At-Risk Sample.

Rodriguez C, Ferguson A, Gonzalez S Children (Basel). 2022; 9(3).

PMID: 35327722 PMC: 8947428. DOI: 10.3390/children9030350.

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