Communication Styles of Children of Mothers with Affective Disorders, Chronic Medical Illness, and Normal Controls: A Contextual Perspective

Authors

Elizabeth Burney Hamilton, George Fox UniversityFollow
Constance Hammen, University of California, Los Angeles
Gayane Minasian, University of California, Los Angeles
Maren Jones, University of California, Los Angeles

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1993

Abstract

Research has demonstrated impaired parent-child relationships in families with affective disorders. The present study examines the association of children's interactional style during a direct conflict-solving task to both the mother's interactional style and the child's diagnostic status. The sample includes 63 children, ages 8 to 16, of mothers with affective disorders, chronic medical illness, and normal controls. Children's dominant coping style profile (CS) (autonomous, neutral, or critical) was related to their mother's affective style (AS) (benign or negative). Affective disorder in the child at 6-month followup was associated with a critical CS profile at intake, while the child's nonaffective symptomatology was unrelated to CS. Findings indicate that children's affective disturbance is linked to interpersonal deficits in affectively charged situations. Results suggest that the child's CS is more strongly predicted by maternal AS than by either the child's or the mother's diagnostic status.

Comments

Originally published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21(1), 51-63.

See it here:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00910488

Recommended Citation

Hamilton, Elizabeth Burney; Hammen, Constance; Minasian, Gayane; and Jones, Maren, "Communication Styles of Children of Mothers with Affective Disorders, Chronic Medical Illness, and Normal Controls: A Contextual Perspective" (1993). Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program. 236.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gscp_fac/236