New ARCH Research

A new ARCH Lab paper entitled, “Association between trajectories of maternal depression and subsequent psychological functioning in youth with and without chronic physical illness” was recently published in Health Psychology. Four trajectories (low, decreasing, increasing, and high) of maternal depression were identified. The association of maternal depressive symptoms on youth psychological functioning (anger regulation, self-concept, and symptoms of depression) was augmented by the presence of chronic illness. That is, less favorable trajectories of maternal depression had a more pronounced detrimental association on youths with chronic illness compared to youths without chronic illness. Findings from this study suggest that youths with chronic illness are particularly vulnerable to the negative psychological exposure of maternal depressive symptoms during the transition to adulthood.