There is now strong evidence documenting an association between maternal depression and psychopathology in children and adolescents, but an increased understanding of the explanatory mechanisms is needed. This longitudinal study tested a model to determine if parenting processes that may promote parentification of adolescents (coded from narratives written by mothers) mediate the link between maternal depression symptoms and adolescent psychopathology. Participants in this study were 220 mothers and their children between the ages of 11 and 17, over-recruited for adolescent psychopathology. Maternal depression symptoms and the understudied process of differentiation of generational boundaries, as well as more commonly evaluated aspects of self-efficacy and child acceptance, were evaluated at Time 1. Adolescent psychopathology was assessed at Time 1 and again two years later at Time 2. As predicted maternal depression symptoms were related to adolescent psychopathology and this link was partially mediated by parenting processes. Some differences in these results were shown for adolescent females and males. Findings highlight parental mechanisms by which risk for psychopathology may be transmitted across generations and suggest avenues for clinical interventions.

现在有强有力的证据表明母亲抑郁症与儿童和青少年的精神病理学之间存在关联，但需要更多地了解解释机制。这项纵向研究测试了一个模型，以确定可能促进青少年亲子化的养育过程（根据母亲撰写的叙述编码）是否介导了母亲抑郁症状与青少年精神病理学之间的联系。这项研究的参与者是 220 名母亲及其 11 至 17 岁的孩子，他们因青少年精神病理学而被过度招募。在时间 1 评估了母亲的抑郁症状和代际界限分化的未充分研究过程，以及更常见的自我效能感和儿童接受度方面的评估。在时间 1 和两年后在时间 2 评估青少年精神病理学。正如预测的那样，母亲抑郁症状与青少年精神病理学有关，并且这种联系部分是由养育过程介导的。青春期女性和男性在这些结果中存在一些差异。研究结果强调了精神病理学风险可能跨代传播的父母机制，并提出了临床干预的途径。