1.Emotional and Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Off-springs of Mothers with Depression
WI Wan Salwina ; NJ Nik Ruzyanei ; AM Nurliza ; AM Irma ; B Hafi z ; I Ayob ; KX Lew
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2013;9(2):35-43
Maternal depression has been linked to the development of adolescents’ emotional and behavioural
problems. The main objective of this study was to determine the association between maternal
depressive disorders and externalizing and internalizing problems among their adolescent children.
This was a cross-sectional, comparison study of 35 mothers with depression and their adolescents,
matched with 35 healthy mothers and their adolescents as controls. The mothers completed Quick
Inventory Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) for assessment of current depression. The emotional
and behavioural problems in the adolescents were assessed independently by the mothers and their
adolescents off-springs using Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR),
respectively. SPSS version 12.0 was used for statistical analysis. The fi ndings showed that adolescents
who have mothers with depressive disorders had signifi cantly higher scores of externalizing (mean
difference = 4.686 + 10.887, p = 0.016) and total emotional and behavioural problems (mean difference
= 10.171 + 23.007, p = 0.013) than controls. The cases also scored higher than the controls in the
following CBCL syndrome scales: aggressive behaviour (mean difference = 3.200 + 6.773, p = 0.008),
social problem (mean difference = 1.286 + 2.865, p = 0.012), and attention problem (mean difference
= 1.543 + 4.435, p = 0.047). Mothers with depressive disorders reported that their adolescents have
greater emotional and behavioural problems than the controls. The fi ndings suggested a need for
preventive strategies to curb problematic behaviour focusing on this vulnerable group.