Abstract: Maternal depressive symptoms predict negative child behaviors, including internalizing problems. However, protective factors, such as positive emotionality and positive parenting behaviors, may play an important a role in attenuating associations between maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems. This article presents two studies that examined buffers of links between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing problems. Each study examined samples of primarily African American families with young children in an impoverished large city in the Midwestern United States. Families were recruited from kindergarten classes and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) centers. In both studies, indicators of mothers’ positivity, as measured by text-based analysis of positive emotion word use or behavioral observation of positive parenting behaviors, attenuated links between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing problems. The results suggest that risk for internalizing problems within the context of maternal depressive symptoms is reduced when parents experience and express more positive emotions and behaviors.

中文翻译：

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母亲的抑郁症状和有风险的幼儿内化问题：母亲积极性的调节作用

摘要：母亲的抑郁症状预示着孩子的消极行为，包括内化问题。然而，积极情绪和积极的养育行为等保护性因素可能在减轻母亲抑郁症状与儿童行为问题之间的关联方面发挥重要作用。本文介绍了两项研究，这些研究检查了母亲抑郁症状与儿童内化问题之间的联系缓冲。每项研究都检查了美国中西部一个贫穷的大城市中主要有小孩的非裔美国人家庭的样本。家庭是从幼儿园班级和妇女、婴儿和儿童 (WIC) 中心招募的。在这两项研究中，母亲积极性的指标，通过基于文本的积极情绪词使用分析或积极养育行为的行为观察来衡量，减弱了母亲抑郁症状与儿童内化问题之间的联系。结果表明，当父母体验和表达更多积极的情绪和行为时，在母亲抑郁症状的背景下内化问题的风险会降低。