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The Relationship of Depressive Symptoms to Parenting Competence and Social Support in Inner-City Mothers of Young Children

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Objective: Despite the high prevalence of maternal depression and its negative consequences for children, many pediatricians fail to identify this problem. Our goal was to determine whether simple questions about parenting competence and the adequacy of maternal social support might be useful to providers in determining which inner-city mothers are likely to be depressed. Methods: We surveyed a convenience sample of 279 English-speaking mothers of children 6 months to 3 years old prior to a routine visit at an urban, hospital-based general pediatrics clinic. The mothers self-completed the Psychiatric Symptom Index (PSI) and the Parenting Stress Index Sense of Competence subscale, and rated the adequacy of their social support, and provided health and sociodemographic data by face-to-face interview. Results: 41% of mothers had “high” PSI symptom levels and 22% had scores above a criterion that suggests major depressive disorder. In addition, 15% experienced high parenting stress (low competence) and 42% reported little or no social support. High distress was unrelated to a variety of sociodemographic risk factors, but significantly associated with a poor sense of parenting competence (Adj. OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.5, 7.0) and inadequate perceived social support (Adj. OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.2, 4.4), as well as with having health-related activity limitations (Adj. OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.1, 9.0). Conclusions: Negative ratings of parenting competence, low perceived social support, and presence of health-related activity restrictions can be useful markers of likely depression among inner-city mothers of young children. These factors are often assessed during routine pediatric visits and may be helpful to pediatricians in identifying mothers needing further evaluation or treatment by mental health specialists.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Portions of this paper were presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, New Orleans, LA, May 4, 1998. We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and Jacobi Medical Center. We also thank students from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Health Research Training Program of the New York City Department of Health for their assistance in data collection, Lauren E. Westbrook, PhD for contributing to earlier work that led to this investigation, and the participating families for their help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, U.S.

    Ellen Johnson Silver PhD, Amy M. Heneghan MD, Laurie J. Bauman PhD & Ruth E. K. Stein MD

  2. Present address: Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

    Amy M. Heneghan MD

  3. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, NR 7South15, Bronx, New York, 10461, U.S.

    Ellen Johnson Silver PhD

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  1. Ellen Johnson Silver PhD
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  2. Amy M. Heneghan MD
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  3. Laurie J. Bauman PhD
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  4. Ruth E. K. Stein MD
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Correspondence to Ellen Johnson Silver PhD.

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Silver, E.J., Heneghan, A.M., Bauman, L.J. et al. The Relationship of Depressive Symptoms to Parenting Competence and Social Support in Inner-City Mothers of Young Children. Matern Child Health J 10, 105–112 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-005-0024-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-005-0024-4

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