Maternal Depression and Their Children’s Academic Outcomes

Bechtiger (Laura)¹, Steinhoff (Annekatrin)¹, Keane (Susan P.)², Calkins (Susan D.)³, Shanahan (Lilly)^4
1Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich
²Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina Greensboro
³Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina Greensboro
⁴Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development and Department of Psychology, University of Zurich

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 10-07-2019, 15:30 - 17:00

Keywords

maternal depression, academic competence, academic performance, student-teacher relationship, longitudinal

Summary

Schools are first responders to many forms of childhood adverse experiences. Maternal depression is one such experience, affects many families, and can impact mothers’ abilities to be involved in their children’s schoolwork. This study examined whether maternal depression was associated with children’s academic competence/performance from elementary school into the high school years. It also examined whether and how positive teacher-child relationships could buffer children from this adversity.

 

Data came from a prospective-longitudinal community study from the United States. Children and mothers were assessed when children were 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 17 years old. At each assessment, maternal depression was measured. When children started school, teachers rated children’s academic competence/success and also their relationship with the child. Children completed objective achievement tests and provided their report cards.

 

Preliminary results indicated that maternal depression in early childhood was moderately negatively correlated with academic productivity/success from K to 2nd grade, and also with later performance on academic achievement tasks, particularly in math. A positive teacher-child relationship was associated with higher academic competence. Future analyses will test mediation and moderation to understand how positive relationships in the school context can attenuate academic risk incurred from maternal depression.

 

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