Children's appraisals of interparental conflict predict event-related potential components

Recalled Coparenting Conflict, Paralysis of Initiative, and Sensitivity to Conflict during Late Adolescence

During late adolescence, interpersonal acuity and decisiveness are facilitative of transitions to emerging adulthood. Disruptions in these capacities may be traceable to phenomena evoked by origin family coparental conflict – paralysis of initiative and hypersensitivity to conflict. Documenting such connections can lead to more beneficial interventions for adolescents transitioning into adulthood. The aims of this study were to examine relationships between college freshmen’s reports of coparenting conflict in their origin families and (a) their immobility and indecision when faced with calls to action and (b) their hypersensitivity to signs of inter-adult conflict. Thirty-four freshmen (25 women and 9 men) rated their own coparents’ conflict dynamics and completed (a) a timed perceptual-motor challenge in which quick and deft action was essential to avoid failure; (b) the Rorschach inkblot test; and (c) a judgement task requiring ratings of and predictions about the interpersonal dynamics between unfamiliar adults portrayed in videos coparenting small children. Even controlling for the effects of self-reported depressive symptoms, significant links emerged between greater recalled coparenting conflict in the origin family and longer delays in initiating action in the perceptual-motor challenge; lower active-to-passive responses on the Rorschach; and attributions of more dissonant coparenting behavior in the videotaped family interactions. Results suggest that origin family coparental conflict may show ties to hypersensitivity to conflict and to indecisiveness in the face of calls to action. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.

Children's appraisals of maternal depression and responses to emotional faces in early-adolescence: An Event Related Potential (ERP) study

BACKGROUND

Parental depression represents a significant risk for depression development in offspring. While cognitive mechanisms represent a central risk pathway, children's appraisals of parental symptoms have been understudied. This study examined associations between children's self-blame, threat, and frequency/duration appraisals for maternal symptoms in relation to cognitive control and emotional response processes.

METHODS

Sixty mother-daughter (aged 10-14-years) pairs participated. Affective processing was assessed by three Event Related Potential (ERP) components, the N2, P3, and LPP, during an emotional Go/NoGo task.

RESULTS

Threat-appraisals were associated with alterations in all three ERP components, independently of maternal diagnostic histories or youth depressive symptoms. Self-blame was associated with early attentional engagement towards calm faces. Independent effects of maternal depression history and youth symptoms were also observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight the importance of youth perceptions of maternal depressive symptoms in models of depression-risk.