Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T08:20:15.032Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Child maltreatment and vulnerability to depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Sheree L. Toth ,
Jody Todd Manly  and
Dante Cicchetti
Sheree L. Toth*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Jody Todd Manly
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Dante Cicchetti*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
*
Address reprint requests to: Sheree L. Toth of Dante Cicchetti, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608.
Address reprint requests to: Sheree L. Toth of Dante Cicchetti, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This investigation explored differences in depressive symptomatology among low-socioeconomic status children aged 7–12 years from abusive (N = 46), neglectful (N = 35), and nonmaltreating (N = 72) homes. Measures of aggression and self-esteem also were included. Children from abusive homes evidenced significantly more depressive symptomatology than children from either neglectful or nonmaltreating families. Additionally, children from physically abusive homes exhibited lower self-esteem than did nonmaltreated children. While significant differences among groups on aggression did not emerge, all groups evidenced higher levels of acting out behaviors than would be expected in a nonclinic group of children. Results were discussed in terms of the effects of physical abuse on depression and the importance of intervening to prevent the deleterious effects of abuse. Additionally, the impact of neglect and poverty status on the presence of aggression was discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 97 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. S. (1981). Behavioral problems and competencies reported by parents of normal and disturbed children aged 4 through 16. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 46 (Serial No. 188).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Achenbach, T., & Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist. Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington.Google Scholar
Allen, D., & Tarnowski, K. (1989). Depressive characteristics of physically abused children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 77, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, D., Manly, J., & Cicchetti, D. (1991). Continuing toward an operational definition of psychological maltreatment. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 19–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Causes and treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Bemporad, J. R., & Romano, S. J. (in press). Child maltreatment and adult depression: A review of research. In Cicchetti, D. and Toth, S. L. (Eds.), A developmental approach to depression: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 4). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Bibring, E. (1953). The mechanism of depression. In Greenacre, P. (Ed.), Affective disorders. New York: International Universities Press.Google Scholar
Block, J. H., & Block, J. (1969). The California Child Q Set. Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss (Vol. 1). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Brown, G., & Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression. London: Tavistock.Google ScholarPubMed
Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants. Developmental Psychology, 25, 382–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1989). How research on child maltreatment has informed the study of child development: Perspectives from developmental psychopathology. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 377–431). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1990). The organization and coherence of socioemotional, cognitive, and representational development: Illustrations through a developmental psychopathology perspective on Down syndrome and child maltreatment. In Thompson, R. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Vol. 36: Socioemotional development (pp. 259–366). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1991a). Defining psychological maltreatment [Special issue]. Development and Psychopathology, 3(1).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1991b). Fractures in the crystal: Developmental psychopathology and the emergence of the self. Developmental Review, 11, 271–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1991a). Attachment organization in pre-school aged maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 397–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1991b). Toward the development of a scientific nosology of child maltreatment. In Grove, W. & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.), Thinking clearly about psychology: Essays in honor of Paul E. Meehl, Vol. 2: Personality and psychopathology (pp. 346–377). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Beeghly, M. (1987). Symbolic development in maltreated youngsters: An organizational perspective. New Directions for Child Development, 36, 5–29.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Beeghly, M., Carlson, V., & Toth, S. (1990). The emergence of the self in atypical populations. In Cicchetti, D. & Beeghly, M. (Eds.), The self in transition: Infancy to childhood (pp. 309–344). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Carlson, V. (Eds.). (1989). Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Manly, J. (1990). A personal perspective on conducting research with maltreating families: Problems and solutions. In Brody, E. & Sigel, I. (Eds.), Family research: Vol. 2: Families at risk (pp. 87–133). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rizley, R. (1981). Developmental perspectives on the etiology, intergenerational transmission, and sequelae of child maltreatment. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 31–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), (in press). A developmental approach to depression: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 4). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Toth, S. L., & Bush, M. (1988). Developmental psychopathology and incompetence in childhood: Suggestions for intervention. In Lahey, B. & Kazdin, A. (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (Vol. 11, pp. 1–71). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Costello, E. J. (1989). Developments in child psychiatric epidemiology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 836–841.Google ScholarPubMed
Coster, W. J., Gersten, M. S., Beeghly, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). Communicative functioning in maltreated toddlers. Developmental Psychology, 25, 1020–1029.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crittenden, P. M. (1988). Relationships at risk. In Belsky, J. & Nezworski, T. (Eds.), Clinical implications of attachment theory (pp. 136–174). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Crittenden, P. M. (1990). Internal representational models of attachment relationships. Infant Mental Health Journal, 11, 259–277.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crittenden, P. M., & Ainsworth, M. (1989). Attachment and child abuse. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Research and theory on the consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 432–463). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, E. M., & Cicchetti, D. (1990). Attachment, depression, and the transmission of depression. In Greenberg, M. T., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (Eds.), Attachment during the pre-school years (pp. 339–372). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Doerfler, L. A., Felner, R. D., Rowlison, R. T., Raley, P. A., & Evans, E. (1988). Depression in children and adolescents: A comparative analysis of the utility and construct validity of two assessment measures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 769–772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Downey, G., & Coyne, J. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 50–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. (1981). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Finch, A. J., Saylor, C. F., & Edwards, G. L. (1985). Children's Depression Inventory: Sex and grade norms for normal children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 424–425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Freud, S. (1917). Mourning and melancholia. In Standard edition (Vol. 14). London: Hogarth (1968).Google Scholar
Garber, J., Quiggle, N. L., Panak, W., & Dodge, K. A. (1991). Aggression and depression in children: Comorbidity, specificity, and social cognitive processing. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), Internalizing and externalizing expressions of dysfunction: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 2, pp. 225–264). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Gersten, M., Coster, W., Schneider-Rosen, K., Carlson, V., & Cicchetti, D. (1986). The socioemotional bases of communicative functioning: Quality of attachment, language development, and early maltreatment. In Lamb, M. E., Brown, A. L., & Rogoff, B. (Eds.), Advances in developmental psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 105–151). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hollingshead, A. (1975). Four-Factor Index of social status. Unpublished manuscript, Yale University, New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Institute of Medicine. (1989). Research on children and adolescents with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D., Wilson, S., & Zak, L. (1986). Similarities in behavioral and social adjustment among child victims and witnesses to family violence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 142–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kashani, J., McGee, R., Clarkson, S., Anderson, J., Walton, L., Williams, S., Silva, P., Robins, A., Cytryn, L., & McKnew, D. (1983). The nature and prevalence of major and minor depression in a sample of nine-year-old children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 138, 143–153.Google Scholar
Kashani, J. H., Shekim, W. O., Burk, J. P., & Beck, N. C. (1987). Abuse as a predictor of psychopathology in children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 16, 43–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufman, J. (1991). Depressive disorders in maltreated children. American Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 257–265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazdin, A. E. (1988). Childhood depression. In Mash, E. J. & Terdale, L. G. (Eds.), Behavioral assessment of childhood disorders (2nd ed., pp. 157–195). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1990). Childhood depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 121–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazdin, A., Moser, J., Colbus, D., & Bell, R. (1985). Depressive symptoms among physically abused and psychiatrically disturbed children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 298–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M. (1981). Rating scales to assess depression in school-aged children. Acta Paedopsychiatrica, 46, 305–315.Google ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M. (1983). Definition and assessment of childhood depression. In Ricks, D. F. & Dohrenwend, B. S. (Eds.), Origins of psychopathology: Problems in research and public policy (pp. 109–127). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lefkowtiz, M. M., & Burton, N. (1978). Childhood depression: A critique of the concept. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 716–726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1989). Optimal informants on childhood disruptive behaviors. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 317–338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1991). Patterns of relatedness in maltreated and nonmaltreated children: Connections among multiple representational models. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 207–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nurcombe, B. (in press). The evolution and validity of the diagnosis of major depression in childhood and adolescence. In Cicchetti, D. and Toth, S. L. (Eds.), A developmental approach to depression: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 4). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Rie, H. E. (1966). Depression in childhood: A survey of some pertinent contributors. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 5, 653–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rieder, C., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). Organizational perspective on cognitive control functioning and cognitive-affective balance in maltreated children. Developmental Psychology, 25, 382–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rose, D. T., & Abramson, L. Y. (in press). Developmental predictors of depressive cognitive style: Research and theory. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), A developmental approach to depression: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 4). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, M. S. (1987). New directions for research on the psychological maltreatment of children. American Psychologist, 42, 166–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, K. H., Hymel, S., Mills, R. S. L., & Rose-Krasnor, R. (1991). Conceptualizing different developmental pathways to and from social isolation in childhood. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), Internalizing and externalizing expressions of dys-function: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 2, pp. 91–122). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., Izard, C. E., & Read, P. B. (Eds.). (1986). Depression in young people: Developmental and clinical perspectives. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A. J., & Chandler, M. J. (1975). Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking casualty. In Horowitz, F. D. (Ed.), Review of child development research (Vol. 4, pp. 187–244). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Schneider-Rosen, K., Braunwald, K., Carlson, V., & Cicchetti, D. (1985). Current perspectives in attachment theory: Illustration from the study of maltreated infants. In Bretherton, I. & Waters, E. (Eds.), Growing points in attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(Serial No. 209), 194–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider-Rosen, K., & Cicchetti, D. (1984). The relationship between affect and cognition in maltreated infants: Quality of attachment and the development of visual self-recognition. Child Development, 55, 648–658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneider-Rosen, K., & Cicchetti, D. (1991). Early self-knowledge and emotional development: Visual self-recognition and affective reactions to mirror self-image in maltreated and nonmaltreated toddlers. Developmental Psychology, 27, 481–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smucker, M. R., Craighead, E. W., Wilcoxan Craighead, L., & Green, B. J. (1986). Normative and reliability data for the Children's Depression Inventory. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14(1), 25–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Terman, L. M., & Merrill, M. A. (1960). Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Form L-M (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Waters, E., Noyes, D., Vaughn, B., & Ricks, M. (1985). Q-sort definitions of social competence and self esteem: Discriminant validity of related constructs in theory and data. Developmental Psychology, 21, 508–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1974). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Revised. New York: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., Gammon, G., John, D., Merikangas, K., Warner, V., Prusoff, B., & Skolmskas, D. (1987). Children of depressed parents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 847–853.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Welner, Z., & Rice, J. (1988). School aged children of depressed parents: A blind controlled study. Affective Disorders, 15, 291–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar