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Maternal depression symptoms, child behavior problems, and their transactional relations: Probing the role of formal childcare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2019

Chantal Paquin Open the ORCID record for Chantal Paquin [Opens in a new window] ,
Natalie Castellanos-Ryan ,
Frank Vitaro ,
Sylvana M. Côté ,
Richard E. Tremblay ,
Jean R. Séguin ,
Michel Boivin  and
Catherine M. Herba
Chantal Paquin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Natalie Castellanos-Ryan
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Frank Vitaro
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Sylvana M. Côté
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada INSERM U1219 Bordeaux Population Health Unit (BPH), University of Bordeaux, France
Richard E. Tremblay
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Jean R. Séguin
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Michel Boivin
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
Catherine M. Herba*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
*
Author for Correspondence: Catherine M. Herba, Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888 succursale Centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3P8 Telephone (514) 987-3000 extension 2645, Email: herba.catherine@uqam.ca
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Abstract

Among children exposed to elevated maternal depression symptoms (MDS), recent studies have demonstrated reduced internalizing and externalizing problems for those who have attended formal childcare (i.e., center-based, family-based childcare). However, these studies did not consider whether childcare attendance is associated with benefits for the child only or also with reduced MDS. Using a four-wave longitudinal cross-lagged model, we evaluated whether formal childcare attendance was associated with MDS or child behavior problems and whether it moderated longitudinal associations between MDS and child behavior problems and between child behavior problems and MDS. The sample was drawn from a population-based cohort study and consisted of 908 biologically related mother–child dyads, followed from 5 months to 5 years. Attending formal childcare was not associated with MDS or child behavior problems but moderated the association between MDS at 3.5 years and child internalizing and externalizing problems at 5 years as well as between girls’ externalizing problems at 3.5 years and MDS at 5 years. No other moderation of formal childcare was found. Findings suggest that attending formal childcare reduces the risks of behavior problems in the context of MDS but also the risk of MDS in the context of girls’ externalizing problems.

Keywords

childcare, child developmentexternalizing problemsinternalizing problemsmaternal depressive symptoms
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , August 2020 , pp. 831 - 844
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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