The Impact of Maternal Depressive Symptoms on Adolescents’ Aggression: Role of Parenting and Family Mediators

Previous research has found an association between mothers’ depressive symptoms and their adolescents’ involvement in aggression.
The present study examined three mechanisms believed to account for this relation: parenting practices, family functioning,
and informant discrepancy. Participants were a high-risk sample of 927 mother–adolescent dyads (66% African American) who
completed baseline assessments for the Multisite Violence Prevention Project. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed using
the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Adolescents’ aggression was assessed using parent- and teacher-report
on the Behavior Assessment System for Children and student-report on the Problem Behavior Frequency Scale. Mothers’ reports
of depressive symptoms were significantly related to their adolescents’ aggression based on student, teacher, and mothers’
reports, with the strongest correlations found with mothers’ reports. Multilevel modeling indicated that maternal depressive
symptoms were related to the degree of discrepancy between mothers’ ratings of their adolescents’ aggression and ratings by
adolescents and their teachers. Smaller discrepancies between mothers’ and teachers’ ratings of adolescents’ aggression were
found for depressed mothers, as compared to non-depressed mothers. Structural equation models indicated that the relation
between maternal depressive symptoms and mothers’ report of adolescents’ aggression was mediated by several parenting and
family functioning variables, with the clearest effects for parenting practices. Similar findings were not found in analyses
predicting adolescents’ ratings and teachers’ ratings. These findings underscore the potential direct and indirect benefits
of interventions focused on reducing depression among mothers with adolescent children.