African American and Euro-American Mother-Child Communication within the Context of Maternal Depressive Symptoms
Quela Nile Royster
Vanderbilt University

2
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Bruce Compas, PhD, Jennifer Potts Dunbar, Michelle Reising, Kelly Watson,
Meredith Gruhn, Alex Bettis, The Stress and Coping Lab at Vanderbilt University, and the support of an anonymous donor. w

3
Abstract
Past research has shown that depressive symptoms and race/ethnicity separately impact parenting behaviors, although the latter is often confounded with other contextual variables. This study examined the association of depressive symptoms and race/ethnicity with the parenting behaviors of African American and Euro-American mothers while controlling for demographic variables. Mother-child dyads were recorded discussing recent peer stressors and mothers’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors and emotions were coded using the Iowa Family Interaction Rating
Scales (IFIRS). Maternal depressive symptoms did not significantly predict any of the parenting behaviors. African American mothers were significantly higher in structure, authoritarian parenting, and psychological control, significantly lower in engagement, and similar to Euro-
American mothers in warmth and overall communication. However, race/ethnicity only significantly predicted structure and authoritarian parenting. Implications for parenting style research and familial depression preventions are discussed.

4
Introduction
Depression is a global public health concern, affecting around 350 million individuals worldwide (Marcus, Yasamy, Ommeren, Chisholm & Saxena, 2012). Specifically within the
United States, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has a lifetime prevalence of 16% (Boyd &
Waanders, 2013). Due to its recurring and debilitating nature, research in the field of clinical psychology has taken particular interest into studying the disorder. Simply entering the word
“depression” in the PsycINFO search engine produces over 230,000 results, with a spike occurring in the late 1990’s.
While those suffering from depression have always been an important area of research, a particularly important area of investigation is the impact of parental depression on children.
Estimates indicate that around 15 million children in the United States reside in a household where either the mother or father is suffering from depression, and this population has been deemed high-risk (England & Sim, 2009). This number is staggering, especially considering that children living with a depressed parent are at increased risk for developing a psychiatric disorder themselves. In fact, compared to children in the general population, children of depressed parents are 4-5 times more likely to suffer from depression (Weissman, Warner, Wickramaratne,
Moreau, & Olfson, 1997).
This points to depression as being a familial disorder, and the field has responded with an increased interest in family-based intervention models. A recent approach by Compas et al.
(2009) tested a cognitive-behavioral preventative intervention that targeted both children and their parents. The intervention focused in large part on imparting positive parenting skills to parents who had a past history of MDD, and teaching children effective ways to cope with having a depressed parent. The intervention was successful in reducing MDD in the children and

5 decreasing depressive symptoms in the parents (Compas et al., 2009, 2011, 2015). Further, changes in parenting were a significant mediator of the impact of the intervention on symptoms of psychopathology in children (Compas et al., 2010). These results are evidence that parenting skills are a target area when considering effective ways to prevent familial depression.
Parental Depression and Mother-Child Communication
Parent-child interaction is an important area of research in the realm of parental depression. Communication, both verbal and nonverbal, between a depressed parent and his/her child is often where depressed parenting behaviors manifest themselves. In other words, studying parent-child interactions allows researchers to investigate the parenting behaviors of depressed parents.
Parenting behaviors are relevant in that they create a stressful environment for the child that may trigger depression (Lovejoy, Graczyk, O'Hare, & Neuman, 2000). Secondly, they may be compromising the child’s ability to cope. Researchers propose that children of depressed mothers are not being given the necessary responsiveness and support that they need to learn how to effectively manage their emotions (Boyd et al., 2013). These both suggest that genes are not the only route of transmission for parental depression. In fact, observation and exposure to impaired parenting practices are two commonly cited routes of transmission (Lovejoy et al.,
2000).
Research has taken particular interest into the interactions between depressed mothers and their children. Lovejoy et al. (2000) conducted a meta-analytic review of the link between maternal depression and parenting behavior. Past research showed depressed mothers to have high levels of hostility and negativity, impaired responsiveness and sensitivity to the child’s needs, and ineffective communication in interactions with the child. In their meta-analysis,

6
Lovejoy et al. (2000) focused on three aspects of mother-child interaction when the mother is depressed: negativity/coerciveness, disengagement, and positivity. Noting the diversity in methodology for past studies, these categories seemed to most adequately represent past research in its totality. The meta-analytic review confirmed that depressed mothers had significantly more negative and disengaged parenting behaviors and significantly less positive parenting behaviors.
The most notable significance was found for the negative parenting behaviors, which these researchers further described as irritability and hostility in interactions with the child (Lovejoy et al., 2000).
There are two approaches to explaining these parenting behaviors. A large body of research sees these behaviors as a direct manifestation of depression symptoms. The review refers to this as the symptom-based approach (Lovejoy et al., 2000). For example, one study cites rumination and worry as the direct reason for which depressed parents are low in responsiveness and attentiveness. Specifically, they are so consumed with their own worry that they are less responsive and attentive to their children. Others argue that there is not a direct link between depressive symptoms and parenting behaviors. Instead, they propose that these behaviors are the result of generic mental distress that is the “side effect” of being depressed. From this perspective, the reasoning for the parenting behavior is based in positive/negative affect and can be applied broadly to any psychological disorder (Lovejoy et al., 2000).
The Lovejoy et al. (2000) meta-analytic review produced important information regarding the parenting behaviors of depressed parents. The meta-analysis pointed to child age as especially relevant when considering impaired parenting behavior. Namely, it showed a trend in the research to include disengaged parenting as a factor with infant and preschool children, but not with older children. The reviewers attributed this to the importance of parent-initiated

7 interaction in the child’s early development. This is in contrast to older children, who have the ability to force parental engagement through initiating interactions with the parent (Lovejoy et al., 2000). The review concluded that younger children suffer the most from the aversive parenting behaviors, since they are most dependent on the parent for their development.
In sum, children of depressed parents are at risk for developing depression. Outside of genetics, impaired parenting practices help to explain why this is the case. The stress that impaired parenting creates and the disruptions it causes in the child’s development are both potential explanations. These impaired parenting practices become evident when the depressed parent and child interact. Through studying communication –both verbal and nonverbal – in this realm, researchers can learn more about parental depression and its effect on children.
A recent study from Vanderbilt University represents these points. Gruhn et al. (2015) investigated the connection between parental depression and child mental health. These researchers used videos of parent-child interactions to capture what has been documented as the harsh and withdrawn parenting of a depressed parent. In support of past research, Gruhn et al. found that maternal depressive symptoms were positively correlated with child internalizing and externalizing symptoms and the withdrawn and harshness parenting scales. This is further evidence for the impaired parenting of depressed parents, as well as the potential impact of these behaviors on child mental health.
African American Mothers and Mother-Child Communication
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is less frequent amongst African American populations (14.5% compared to 16%), but when present is more severe and often goes untreated
(Boyd et al., 2013). However, research on the parenting behaviors of depressed African

8
American mothers has been relatively rare. African American mothers tend to constitute a representative but minimal portion of most study samples in this domain.
Multicultural psychology research has shown there to be important differences in the parenting behaviors of non-depressed African American and Euro-American mothers. Namely, past research has shown African American mothers to use more physical punishment with their children and higher amounts of psychological control (Smetana, 2011). It is important to note that psychological control was also higher amongst other non-white racial groups and, in general, amongst low SES parents. Considering that race and socioeconomic status are often cofounded, it is unclear the extent to which African American as opposed to lower SES parents use more psychological control.
Behavioral control is also an area of divergence in parenting styles among different racial groups. Studies point to increased strictness and general parental control amongst African
American parents, as well as decreased warmth in the case of low SES African American parents, even in comparison to low SES Euro-American parents (Richman & Mandara, 2013).
This is supported by other studies that show African American parents to give less autonomy to their adolescents, a result which was explained by the importance placed on filial-cultural piety goals, and not SES (Richman et al., 2013).
When categorized using Baumrind’s (1967) parenting styles of authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative, African American parents are more likely to fall into the category of authoritarian parents than Euro-American parents (Sorkhabi & Mandara, 2013). This parenting style is characterized by high strictness and low responsiveness and warmth. Another study found less African American mothers than expected in the very high negative emotion

9 expression group. These results mirrored past research, which showed lower overall emotionality amongst African American parents (Nelson et al., 2012).
These differences appear to be based in divergent socialization goals. Underlying these differences in socialization goals are (1) the low socioeconomic status of some African American families, (2) perceived discrimination, and (3) collectivist ideals (Smetana, 2011; Sorkhabi et al.,
2013). Each of these elements will now be further examined, since understanding them will give insight the cultural context of parenting behaviors.
Firstly, there is a strong association between poverty and race in the United States. This is relevant insofar as the environments in which some African American children are raised. Past research points to the controlling parenting behaviors as being necessitated by the need to protect children from the risks that come with living in a dangerous neighborhood (Sorkhabi et al.,
2013). Another study looked at gender differences in African American mother-child interactions. Researchers found the low SES African American mothers to be more negative and less encouraging than middle-high SES African American mothers when interacting with both sons and daughters (Mandara, Murray, Telesford, Varner & Richman, 2012). Furthermore, many of the studies on African American authoritarian parents use samples that largely consist of low
SES African American parents (Sorkhabi et al., 2013).
However, when considering these socioeconomic differences and their effect on parenting behavior, it is important to recognize that African American parents are a heterogeneous group with varying levels of socioeconomic status. A critique of research in this realm is that it overly emphasizes low SES African Americans, and ignores the growing middle-class of African
American parents (Garner, 2006). Even when comparing middle-class families of African
American and Euro-American descent, however, researchers should take heed. As Smetana

10
(2011) points out, belonging to the middle-class has different meanings and implications for an
African American family. She specifically mentions, amongst other things, that middle-class
Euro-American families still own their own homes at a higher rate than middle-class African
American families, and are more likely to transfer wealth inter-generationally (Smetana, 2011).
Furthermore, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status are frequently confounded in this area of research. Newer studies, however, encourage researchers to view socioeconomic status and culture as interactive, and not additive (Richman et al., 2013). This is exemplified by one study that found that African American low-SES parents used more parental control and less warmth than low-SES Euro-American parents, but found no differences for high-SES African American and Euro-American parents (Richman et al., 2013). These results show that both socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity play a role in determining parenting behaviors. While low SES African
American and Euro-American parents differed, despite being of the same socioeconomic status, high SES parents of both ethnicities parented similarly.
Secondly, previous research proposes that African American parenting behaviors are driven by perceived discrimination experienced by their child. For example, the researchers that found that African American mothers used high amounts of psychological control reasoned that this resulted because mothers were especially cognizant of the racial implications for their child’s bad behavior (Smetana, 2011). In a second study, African Americans mothers were significantly absent in the “Very high negative” expressive style group. Researchers attributed this to slavery and past oppression, and they stated that the mothers controlled their emotions in order to socialize their children to do the same. They proposed that the consequences of this emotion expression were perceived to be more risky for the African American children (Nelson et al.,
2012).

11
Smetana (2011) is one of many who encourage fellow psychologists to think of parenting differences in African American families in combination with their aversive history of slavery and racism. Specifically, she cites the “historically conditioned environments” that contribute to how parents differentially valorize child-rearing goals (Smetana, 2011). For example, the reality for many African American parents is that their child may face racial profiling and discrimination. Smetana (2011) proposes that the awareness of these circumstances drives the parenting behavior dissimilarities.
Lastly, other research proposes that the deviation between collectivist African American parents and individualist Euro-American parents may be contributing to parenting differences. In contrast to individualist parents, collectivist parents place more importance on respect for elders, obedience, and obligation to a group (Sorkhabi et al., 2013). Those who support this view cite the frequent categorization of African American parents as “authoritarian” (Baumrind, 1967).
They propose that it has to do with parents emphasizing obedience to strict rules and giving less autonomy to their adolescents in order to socialize obligation to a group (Richman et al., 2013).
In sum, perceived discrimination, collectivist values, and, often, socioeconomic status create a context in which African American parenting is relatively more strict and controlling, more emotionally restrained, and less warm. African American parenting tends to be more
“authoritarian” than Euro-American parenting. However, the next important concept to consider is if this authoritarian parenting has the same effects on African American children as it does on
Euro-American children, and if not, whether authoritarian parenting is a culturally equivalent term.
In general, research in this area has shown mixed results. There is a portion of research that proposes that authoritarian parenting is less detrimental to child adjustment amongst African

12
American children. Originally, Baumrind (1967) found that authoritarian parenting had a different implication for African American daughters, who were more independent and assertive.
Baumrind proposed that the African American girls perceived this parenting style as warmth and as a model of maternal strength (Sorkhabi et al., 2013). Another 1996 study found this parenting style to be related to less deviant behavior only for the African American adolescents in the study
(Smetana, 2011). More recently, past research found a weaker link between parenting style and academic achievement for African American adolescents (Sorkhabi et al., 2013).
One study took a direct approach to this body of research. Students were asked to give a rating to items concerning parental control and then answered questions about their feelings when the parent acted in this way. The study found that more of the African American youth saw guilty coercion and general control as indications of parental love and concern. The researchers concluded that Euro-American children might be more impacted by strict parenting than African
American children (Sorkhabi et al., 2013).
Two conclusions could be drawn from this research: that African American children are less impacted by authoritarian parenting or that the term authoritarian parenting does not accurately categorize African American parents. Recent research points to the latter. Mandara (2013) believes that the mixed data results are due to the labeling of authoritarian parenting. He recognizes that pure authoritarian parenting is detrimental to children of all cultures. However, he proposes that a lot of what has been considered to be authoritarian parenting amongst African
American parents is really authoritative parenting with directive style (Sorkhabi et al., 2013).
According to Mandara (2013), directive style is a hybrid of the authoritative style with less nurturance and autonomy support. Mandara (2013) believes that this style may better describe many African American parents.

13
Mandara (2013) used cluster analysis to categorize African American parents into parenting style groups. He found that groups were similar, but were not an exact replication of those found by Baumrind (1967). The cohesive-authoritative parenting group was similar to Baumrind’s authoritative parenting style, but also included “authoritarian” behaviors, like high amounts of behavioral control and structure (Sorkhabi et al., 2013). In this sense, authoritative parenting coexisted with increased discipline and lower parental responsiveness, but was not as globally negative as authoritarian parenting.
Mandara (2013) uses this evidence to argue that including the directive style component would clear up some of the confusion surrounding how Baumrind’s parenting styles are interpreted culturally (Sorkhabi et al., 2013). Other researchers also hint at incorrect labeling.
Garner (2006) asserts that African American authoritarian parenting is less parent-centered than in other ethnicities, and that its goal is to help protect the child from perceived discrimination.
This is in contrast to Euro-American authoritarian parenting, which is considered to present itself as parent-centered and penal (Smetana, 2011).
The Current Study
Both maternal depression and racial/ethnic differences separately contribute to parenting behaviors. The extent to which depressive symptoms and cultural factors influence how mothers parent relative to one another, however, is unclear. Furthermore, race is often confounded with other demographic variables, namely socioeconomic status. The current study investigated how depressive symptoms and race/ethnicity together impact relevant parenting behaviors. Namely, key areas are the extent to which parents are authoritarian, their levels of engagement and psychological control, and how well they are communicating with their children. Considering that demographic variables are often confounded with race/ethnicity, the study also explored

14 whether the impact of race/ethnicity and depressive symptoms remained when demographic variables were controlled for. The study was unique in its use of observational methods, which helped to eliminate the influence of self-bias.
The current study examined possible parenting behavior differences between African
American and Euro-American mothers who had varying levels of depressive symptoms. Further, this study investigated if depressive symptoms, race/ethnicity, or both were driving these differences, and whether demographic variables were at play. The results could have implications for how family depression prevention interventions could be culturally adapted.
Transforming negative parenting behaviors to positive ones is an integral component of these interventions. However, what constitutes negative and positive parenting practices may be culturally defined.
This work can provide insight into overlap, if any, between “depressed” parenting behaviors and those of African American mothers. If low engagement and psychological control were explained by both depressive symptoms and racial/ethnic factors, then this could have implications for eliminating these behaviors in a parental intervention. If they were only explained by depressive symptoms, however, then interventions meant to eliminate these maladaptive behaviors would not differ per cultural group.
Based on previous research into depressive symptoms, it was hypothesized that depressive symptoms would be associated with lower engagement, lower warmth, higher amounts of psychological control, and a lower overall communication rating. Authoritarian parenting, when divided into its two components – warmth and structure – would show differing relationships with depressive symptoms. Since there is an overlap between warmth and engagement, it was expected that depressive symptoms would be related to lower parental

15 warmth. However, because authoritarian parenting captures behavioral control, and not psychological control, depressive symptoms were not expected to show a contribution to parental structure.
Based on previous research on African American parents, it was hypothesized that cultural differences would remain in a sample of mothers after accounting for depressive symptoms. Specifically, race/ethnicity would contribute to lower warmth and engagement, and higher amounts of structure and overall authoritarian parenting. Race/ethnicity was not expected to contribute to psychological control for two reasons. Firstly, although research has pointed to more psychological control amongst African American parents, it is unclear whether these results are attributed to race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status (Smetana 2011). Secondly,
Sorkhabi et al. (2013) suggest that authoritarian parenting of African American parents may not be as harsh and intrusive as was previously thought. Race/ethnicity was also not expected to contribute to communication ratings, since these parenting behaviors have been found to be relatively adaptive in many African American families.
Method
Participants
The sample for the current study was recruited between May 2011 and December 2013 for a larger study ( n =120). Only the data of the African American and Euro-American mothers were utilized in the current study. The final sample ( n = 111) included 31 African American and 80
Euro-American mother-child pairs.
The final sample of African American mothers consisted of 31 mothers and one of their children (boys = 21, girls =10) between the ages of 9 and 15 years old (M=12.52). Mothers’ ages ranged from 31 to 51 (M=39.26). African American mothers had on average 15 years of

16 education. The final sample of Euro-American mothers consisted of 80 mothers and one of their children (boys = 43, girls = 37) between the ages of 8 and 15 years old (M=12.23). Mothers’ ages ranged from 29 to 62 (M=42.20). Euro-American mothers had on average 16 years of education. Mothers’ years of education was used as a socioeconomic status indicator.
Procedure
Participants from the current study were part of a larger study designed to better understand how mothers and children communicate about stress and emotions. Recruitment took place through various sources, which included the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center study finder, mass emails sent through Family Care Partners Database, and fliers placed in waiting rooms at private and public mental health clinics in Nashville, Tennessee. Mothers with and without a history of
Major Depressive Disorder were recruited so as to attain a diverse range of depressive symptomology.
Upon expressing interest in participating, participants underwent a phone screen administered by trained clinical psychology doctoral students. Exclusion criteria were the following: a maternal history of bipolar I, bipolar II disorder, or schizophrenia; or a history of schizophrenia, a pervasive developmental disorder, or an intellectual disability in the target child.
Prior to the visit, mothers and children were asked to independently complete a battery of questionnaires.
Once in the research lab, mothers completed a semi-structured clinical interview to assess past and current depression history and a Meta-Emotion Interview to assess their thoughts and feelings regarding emotions in them and in their child. Children completed a battery of cognitive testing to assess executive functioning abilities. Following this in-depth clinical assessment, the

17 mother and child participated in two videotaped discussion tasks where they discussed two stressful events for a span of ten minutes each.
In one task, mother-child pairs were instructed to discuss a recent family stressful event that involved the mother and child (e.g., not spending enough time together; mom nags too much) using a list of questions written to elicit information about how the child copes with family stress and how the mother may assist the child in coping (e.g., what does mom do to help you cope with this problem). In a second task, the mother and child were instructed to discuss a recent stressful event for the child involving peers (e.g., being around rude kids; not having enough friends) using a list of questions written to elicit information about how the child copes with stress related to social interactions and peers and how the mother may assist the child in dealing with these problems. The order of the two interaction tasks varied. Since the goal of the study was to measure general parenting behaviors within the context of parent-child interactions, and not necessarily content-related components of the discussion (such as coping style socialization), only the peer task was used for the purpose of the current study.
The Institutional Review Board at Vanderbilt University approved all procedures.
Clinical psychology graduate students conducted all semi-structured interviews and undergraduate research assistants conducted the parent-child interaction tasks. Families were compensated $100 in total for the assessment ($60 for the parent, $40 for the child). In addition, mothers received a packet of information about parent-child communication, parenting, and the effects of parental depression on parenting.
Measures
Race/Ethnicity. Mothers were asked about their race/ethnicity; responses were coded 1 for American-Indian or Alaska Native, a 2 for Asian, a 3 for Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander,

18 a 4 for Black or African American, a 5 for White, a 6 for more than one race, a 7 for other, and a
555 for “Don’t know”. Mothers were only included if they marked 4 or 5, and not 6 (more than one race), even if one of those races was White or Black/African American. Children who listed more than one race were included as long as the parent marked a 4 or a 5. This is because maternal race/ethnicity, and not child race/ethnicity, was the focus of this study. Of the 80 Euro-
American mothers and 31 African American mothers, only 5 children were marked as “other” or
“more than one race”.
Maternal Depressives
African American and Euro-American mothers completed the widely used 21-item Beck
Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) to assess their current depressive symptoms in the past two weeks, including sadness, anhedonia, appetite, indecisiveness, guilt, and suicidality. Mothers rated the symptoms on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 3. The
BDI-II has been show to have good internal consistency reliability in previous samples.
Demographic Variables
Age of child, age of mother, mothers’ years of education, and child gender were selected as demographic variables. Because some income data was missing, mothers’ years of education was utilized as a measure of socioeconomic status. It was coded on a number scale, with 12 indicating completion of a high school education, 16 indicating four-year college education, and so forth. Participants provided this data at the beginning of the study, before completion of mother-child interaction tasks.
Observation of Maternal Parenting Behavior
Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales. Parenting behaviors in the peer stressor motherchild interaction tasks were coded using a macro-level coding system, the Iowa Family

19
Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS). These scales are designed to reflect behaviors and emotions on two levels: individual and dyadic (Melby et al., 1998).
Each code is rated on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = not at all characteristic to 9 = mainly characteristic ) based on the frequency, intensity, and duration of such things as parental verbal and nonverbal behaviors, affect, and tone of voice.
The coding process involved watching the 10-minute task five times and assigning a rating of 1-9 for each code based on documented examples of the code. Two trained research assistants coded each task independently and then compared their codes. If codes differed by two or more points, they had to reach a consensus by reviewing their examples and reasoning behind the given rating. If codes were one point away from each other, research assistants were instructed to give the higher code. For the current study, inter-rater reliability was 78% for parent codes. It is important to note that coders were blind to maternal depression status. The IFIRS system has been validated through correlational and confirmatory factor analysis (Alderfer et al.,
2008; Melby & Conger, 2001).
The current study made use only of the maternal IFIRS codes. Specifically, composite scales were derived after seeing which codes were correlated and carefully reviewing the literature. There was an Authoritarian scale, an Engagement scale, a Psychological Control scale, and an overall Communication rating. The Authoritarian scale included the following codes:
Lecture/Moralize, Indulgent/Permissive (reverse-coded), Positive Reinforcement (reversecoded), Sensitive/Child Centered (reverse-coded), and Warmth/Support (reverse-coded). It was also broken into its two components: Warmth and Structure. Warmth consisted of Positive
Reinforcement, Sensitive/Child Centered, and Warmth/Support codes. The Structure composite consisted of the Lecture/Moralize and Indulgent/Permissive (reverse-coded) codes. The
Engagement scale included Listener Responsiveness, Child Monitoring, and Neglect/Distancing

20
(reverse-coded). The Psychological Control scale included Guilty Coercion and Intrusiveness.
The Communication code was used in isolation to measure overall communication impairment.
Table 1 defines these codes in detail.
Results
Data Analysis Plan
Analyses were performed using SPSS (v. 16.0, Chicago, IL) statistical packages. Means, standard deviations, and frequencies were calculated for all variables. Independent samples t tests were run in order to determine the relationship between parenting behavior composite scales for African American and Euro-American mothers. In order to determine the association of depressive symptoms and demographic variables with parenting behavior differences, bivariate correlations were calculated to determine the relationship between parenting behavior scales, BDI-II scores, and demographic variables. Linear multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the portion of variance in parenting behaviors accounted for by BDI-II scores, race/ethnicity, and demographic variables.
Preliminary Analyses
The means and standard deviations for the age of mother, age of child, mothers’ years of education, BDI-II scores, and parenting behavior scales were calculated for the African
American sample, the Euro-American sample, and the sample as a whole. Similarly, frequencies for child gender in each group and the whole group were calculated. This information is summarized in Table 2. African-American mothers’ scores on the BDI-II ranged from 0 to 51 with a mean of 12.87, which falls in the mildly depressed range. Euro-American mothers’ scores on the BDI-II ranged from 0 to 40 with a mean of 9.6, which falls in the non-depressed range. It is important to note that despite a difference of 4 points in mean BDI-II score for the two groups,

21 no significant difference was found. The two groups were statistically different regarding maternal age, t ( 59.603) = -2.386, p <.05, and maternal years of education, t (66.956
) = -2.676, p
<.05. The African American sample had disproportionately more male children then female children. Each of these variables was included in later linear regression analyses.
Parenting and Race/Ethnicity
It was hypothesized that African American mothers would be more Authoritarian than
European American mothers. When the Authoritarian composite was broken into two levels, warmth and structure, it was predicted that African American mothers would be less warm and higher in structure. It was also hypothesized that they would be less engaged, but similar regarding psychological control and communication.
These hypotheses were partially confirmed. First, there was a significant difference for overall Authoritarian parenting, with African American parents being higher in Authoritarian parenting, t (60.33) = 4.26, p < .05. However, when the Authoritarian composite was broken into two levels, African American mothers were significantly higher on structure, t (65.50) = 6.11, p
<.05, but were not significantly lower in warmth, t (59.80) = 1.29, p >.05.
As was predicted, African American mothers were significantly less engaged, t (69.83) =
-2.59, p <.05. Contrary to the hypothesis, however, African American mothers did use significantly more psychological control, t (65.44) = 2.12, p <.05. True to the hypothesis, there was not a significant difference in communication ratings for the two groups, t (62.48) = -1.66, p
>.05.
Parenting Behavior Differences, Depressive Symptoms, and Demographic Variables
It was hypothesized that depressive symptoms would contribute to parenting behavior differences, specifically by being associated with less engagement and warmth, more

22 psychological control, and a lower communication rating. Contrary to the hypothesis, however,
BDI-II score was not significantly correlated with any of the parenting behaviors. BDI-II score was only significantly related to mother’s years of education, r = -.22, p < .05.
A correlation matrix with demographic variables, BDI-II scores, and parenting behavior scales revealed significant relationships between various parenting behaviors and nonracial/ethnic contextual variables. Namely, age of mother was significantly negatively associated with Psychological Control, r = -.21, p < .05. Age of child was significantly associated with
Warmth, r = -.30, p < .01, Authoritarian Total, r = .27, p < .01, and Communication, r = -.32, p <
.01. Mother’s years of education was significantly associated with Psychological Control, r = -
.24, p < .05, and Communication, r = .21, p < .05. Among the demographic variables, a significant relationship was found between age of child and age of mother, r = .43, p < .001.
There were significant relationships among the parenting behaviors as well. Engagement was significantly correlated with Warmth, r = .61, p < .001, and Authoritarian Total, r = -.54, p <
.001. Psychological Control was significantly correlated with Warmth, r = -.29, p < .001,
Structure, r = .23, p < .01, Authoritarian Total, r = .36, p < .001, and Engagement r = -.38, p <
.001. Communication was significantly correlated with Warmth, r = .65, p < .001, Authoritarian
Total, r = -.59, p < .001, Engagement r = .70, p < .001, and Psychological Control r =- .38, p <
.001.
Linear Regressions Predicting Parenting
Since significant relationships were found between demographic variables and parenting behavior composites, as well as between BDI-II scores and mothers’ years of education, linear regression analyses were run to determine how depressive symptoms, race/ethnicity, and demographic variables contributed to parenting behaviors. As a reminder, when independent

23 samples t -tests were run for race and parenting behaviors, Structure, Authoritarian Total,
Engagement, and Psychological Control were significantly different between African Americans and European Americans.
The equation predicting Structure was significant (R
2
= .31), and race/ethnicity was the only significant predictor,
 =
-.58, p < .001. The equation predicting Warmth was significant
(R
2
= .11), and child age was the only significant predictor,
 =
-.32, p < .01. The equation predicting Authoritarian Total, which was a combination of the Warmth and Structure composites, was significant (R
2
= .24), and child age,
 =
.25, p < .05, and race/ethnicity
 =
-
.40, p < .001 were the significant predictors. The equation predicting Engagement was significant (R
2
= .15), and age of mother,
 =
.25, p < .05, and age of child,
 =
-.25, p < .05, were the significant predictors. The equation predicting Psychological Control was significant
(R
2
= .12), but there were not significant predictors although age of mother was approaching significance,
 =
-.21, p = .058. The equation predicting Communication was significant (R
2
=
.22), and age of child,
 =
-.36, p < .001, and child gender
 =
-.19, p < .05, were significant predictors.
Discussion
This study examined the association of race, depressive symptoms, and demographic variables with parenting behaviors. Previous research has documented that depressed mothers are more harsh and withdrawn in parent-child interactions. Therefore, it was hypothesized that depressive symptoms as measured by the BDI-II would be associated with less parental engagement, less warmth, more psychological control, and impaired communication as indicated by a lower communication rating. However, BDI-II scores did not significantly predict any of the parenting behaviors.

24
Research into racial/ethnic differences has suggested that African American parents tend to be more authoritarian than Euro-American mothers. Results from the current study supported the hypothesis that African American parents would be higher in structure and overall authoritarian parenting, but did not find lower levels of warmth in these parents. The hypothesis that African American parents would be lower in engagement was also contradicted, when an original statistical difference was not upheld when controlling for other demographic variables.
Past research has also pointed to African American parents using more psychological control, but it was unclear how much this result was due to confounding race with other demographic variables. Therefore, it was hypothesized that there would not be a racial/ethnic difference for psychological control or communication. Both of these hypotheses were upheld: despite an original statistical difference in psychological control, controlling for other demographic variables showed race/ethnicity to be an insignificant predictor.
Depressive Symptoms and Parenting Behaviors
Depressive symptoms did not significantly contribute to any of the parenting behavior scales. Depressive symptoms were not expected to have an impact in the realm of authoritarian parenting and structure, since this parenting style occurs without the presence of depressive symptoms and appears to be the norm for many African American families. However, it was hypothesized that BDI-II score would contribute to lower engagement, lower warmth, higher psychological control, and a lower communication rating. Depressive symptoms were expected to have an impact on parental engagement, since depressed parents have been documented to be withdrawn in interactions with the child. Because of the overlap between engagement and warmth, it was hypothesized that depressive symptoms would be related to lower warmth.

25
Similarly, BDI-II score was expected to predict higher use of psychological control and impaired communication, as indicated by a lower communication rating.
Regarding the non-significant findings with BDI-II scores, one explanation is that withdrawn parenting behaviors, psychological control, and impaired communication are only present in mothers with high amounts of depressive symptomology. Mean BDI-II scores were 13 and 9 points for the African American and Euro-American mothers, respectively. Based on the
BDI-II index, this means that Euro-American mothers tended to fall into the category of nondepressed category, and African American mothers were on average in the mild mood disturbance group. Lovejoy et al. (2000) described two approaches to explaining the parenting behaviors of depressed parents. Either approach serves to give a possible explanation for the lack of significant effects in the current study. Using the symptom-based approach, depressive symptoms specifically relevant to driving parental withdrawal or psychological control were not present. Using the general disturbance in affect perspective, affect was not disrupted enough to elicit the maladaptive parenting behaviors. In sum, it is possible that levels of depressive symptoms were not high enough to activate parental withdrawal and psychologically controlling parenting behaviors.
Race/Ethnicity and Parenting Behaviors
Warmth, Structure, and Authoritarian Parenting. The hypothesis that African American parents would be significantly higher in Authoritarian parenting was confirmed. However, when the scale was divided into its two components, Warmth and Structure, African American mothers were only significantly higher in Structure. They were similar to Euro-American mothers regarding warmth. This finding coincides with newer research that suggests that many African
American parents are not “pure” authoritarian parents. Mandara (2013) proposed that what has

26 previously been labeled as authoritarian parenting in African American parents is actually a hybrid between authoritarian and authoritative parenting. Similarly, Smetana (2011) differentiates more child-centered African American authoritarian parenting from the more punitive authoritarian parenting of Euro-American parents. The presence of high structure with average levels of warmth support both Mandara and Smetana’s propositions.
Furthermore, it suggests that the structure and warmth components of authoritarian parenting measures should be considered together as well as separately. High parental structure does not necessarily imply lower warmth. In this study, the higher structure scores were behind the significant differences in Authoritarian parenting for the two groups, despite no differences in warmth. When placed in the literature, which has found authoritarian parenting to be perceived as warmth for some African American children, this finding makes sense (Sorkhabi et al., 2013).
It suggests that high structure is driving African American authoritarian parenting, and that warmth in parent-child interactions remains in tact. It is important to note that warmth was only significantly predicted by child age, and that ttests revealed that child age was not significantly different for the two groups. This suggests that, while there are no between-group differences in warmth, there are within group differences depending on age of the child. The younger the child, the more warmth was measured in the interaction.
Many studies have reasoned that African American authoritarian parenting is driven by socioeconomic status, and that dangerous living environments necessitate high control. However, the SES measure used in the current study, parental years of education, was not a significant predictor of Structure in the linear regression analysis. Instead, race/ethnicity was the only significant predictor. This finding is consistent with a second line of reasoning based in perceived discrimination. Namely, Smetana (2011) proposes that African American parents are

27 more strict and controlling because they believe that the consequences for their child’s bad behavior will be harsher and discriminatory in comparison to their Euro-American counterparts.
Engagement . The original between-group statistical difference found in the comparison of African American and Euro-American mothers for engagement was no longer significant in the multiple linear regression. Contrary to the hypothesis, it was child age and mother age, and not race/ethnicity or BDI-II score, which significantly predicted engagement. This finding implies that African American mothers are neither less warm nor less engaged in interactions with the child. Due to the overlap between warmth and engagement, this finding is further support for the hybrid authoritarian/authoritative style of many African American parents.
Psychological Control. In the initial ttests, psychological control was statistically different for African American and Euro-American mothers. However, race/ethnicity was not a significant predictor of psychological control when other demographic variables were combined into a linear regression. Therefore, the hypothesis was partially met. There was a difference between the two groups, but that difference was not fully accounted for by race/ethnicity. This finding is important in distinguishing behavioral control from psychological control in African
American samples. While Structure may be motivated by perceived child discrimination, psychological control was not significantly predicted by race/ethnicity or the SES measure of mothers’ years of education. Only mother age was approaching significance. This suggests that there is another larger factor contributing to differences in psychological control amongst the two groups.
Communication. Communication ratings were not different for African American and
Euro-American mothers. However, the correlation matrix revealed that communication was significantly negatively associated with Authoritarian parenting. These two findings contradict

28 each other. Since African American parents were higher in authoritarian parenting, and authoritarian parenting was negatively correlated with communication, one would expect African
American parents to have lower communication ratings. Instead, it appears that other variables were at play.
Communication was also negatively associated with mother age and mothers’ years of education, and African American mothers were statistically different from Euro-American mothers on these two variables, being younger and less educated. In sum, African American mothers were younger, less educated, and more authoritarian than Euro-American mothers, and all of these variables were associated with communication rating. More research is needed to examine the interaction of these variables. In the regression, child gender and child age were the only significant predictors of communication. This suggests that differences in communication were not related to race/ethnicity, but rather other demographic variables.
Summary
Strengths. This study was unique in that it combined race/ethnicity and depressive symptoms within the same study as possible predictors of parenting behaviors, bringing together research on depressed mothers and African American mothers. Since past research has frequently confounded race/ethnicity with other contextual factors, demographic variables were included and controlled for. This allowed for a clearer interpretation of the impact of race/ethnicity and depressive symptomology on parenting behaviors. Additionally, it relied on observational methods as opposed to potentially biased self-report measures. Lastly, past research has often viewed depression categorically, by comparing mothers with and without depression. This study was unique in that depressive symptoms were seen on a continuous scale.
Participants were mothers with a broad range of BDI-II scores and depression histories.

29
Implications.
This study did not identify any key areas where depressed parenting behaviors and African American parenting behaviors overlapped. As a result, no conclusions can be drawn regarding how familial depression interventions can be culturally adapted. However, this study does have implications regarding how contextual factors can influence these interventions. Namely, Warmth was significantly predicted by child age, Engagement by child and mother age, and Communication by child age and child gender. When conducting these interventions, researchers should be consciousness of the impact these variables may have on the success of an intervention.
Limitations.
There were limitations to the current study. Firstly, race and ethnicity were considered under the same umbrella. Participants were asked to indicate if they were
Black/African American, but no other specification was required. This is an important distinction to make, since “Black” can indicate a large range of ethnicities, including Afro-descendants from
Central and South America as well as those from African countries. In essence, the race includes a broad range of ethnicities. Hypotheses for this study, however, were based solely on African
American parents. Future research should investigate ethnic parenting behavior differences within the racial category. Given the differences in culture for these ethnicities, and the impact of culture on parenting behaviors, more parenting behavior differences may be uncovered.
In addition, the BDI-II scores for the parents in this sample were low, with most parents falling into the category of normal to mild mood disturbance. This may be the reason why BDI-II score was not associated with any of the parenting behaviors. Samples with higher amounts of depressive symptoms may be necessary to see the true impact of depressive symptomology on parenting behaviors.

30
Lastly, income data was not available for 19% of African American mothers and 10% of
Euro-American mothers. To ameliorate this, mothers’ years’ of education was included as a measure of socioeconomic status. A better estimate of socioeconomic status would have included both income and education. Future studies should include stronger measures of socioeconomic status in order to tease out the impact of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity on parenting behaviors.
Future Directions . These results suggest that there may be a threshold for depressive symptoms to impact parenting behaviors. It is supported in past research that depressed mothers parent differently, but how these parenting behaviors change leading into and after completion of a depressive episode is unknown. There may still be disturbed affect surrounding a depressive episode that could impact parenting behaviors. Finding the ground between full-blown episode and pre/post episode, regarding level of depressive symptoms needed to induce maladaptive parenting behaviors, would be an interesting area of research. This sample seems to have had too low of a range.
There were no parenting behaviors that were explained by both depressive symptoms and racial/ethnic differences. This does not mean that there is no overlap between the two domains.
Rather, this result is most likely due to low levels of depressive symptoms. Future research should continue to investigate overlap between the two domains, since this will contribute to our knowledge of how familial depression interventions can be culturally adapted. Interestingly, both depressed parenting domains – Engagement and Psychological Control -- were significantly different for African American and European American mothers. However, race/ethnicity was not a significant predictor in regression analyses. Future research should investigate what other

contextual factors could be at play in differentiating these two groups, since BDI-II score was also not predictive.
31

32
References
Alderfer, M. A., Fiese, B. H., Gold, J. I., Cutuli, J. J., Holmbeck, G. N., Goldbeck, L., Chambers, C.
T., Abad, M., Spetter, D., & Patterson, J. (2008). Evidence-based assessment in pediatric psychology: Family measures. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 33, 1046-61.
Baumrind, D. (1967). Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75(1), 43-88.
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996) BDI-II manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological
Corporation.
Boyd, R. C., & Waanders, C. (2013). Protective factors for depression among african american children of predominantly low-income mothers with depression.
Journal of Child and Family
Studies, 22 (1), 85-95. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9588-y.
Compas, B. E., Champion, J. E., Forehand, R., Cole, D. A., Reeslund, K. L., Fear, J.,Roberts, L.
(2010). Coping and parenting: Mediators of 12-month outcomes of a family group cognitive– behavioral preventive intervention with families of depressed parents.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78 (5), 623-634. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0020459
Compas, B.E., Forehand, R., Champion, J.E., Keller, G., Hardcastle, E.J., Cole, D.A., Potts, J., Haker,
K., Rakow, A., Colletti, C., Reeslund, K., Fear, J., Garai, E., McKee, L., Merchant, M.J., &
Roberts, L. (2011). Family group cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention for families of depressed parents: 18- and 24-month outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 78, 488-499.
Compas, B.E., Forehand, R., Keller, G., Champion, J.E., Rakow, A., Reeslund, K.L., et al. (2009).
Randomized controlled trial of a family cognitive-behavioral preventative intervention for

33 children of depressed parents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77 , 1007-1020. doi: 10.1037/a0016930.
Consedine, N. S., & Magai, C. (2002). The uncharted waters of emotion: Ethnicity, trait emotion and emotion expression in older adults.
Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 17 (1), 71-100. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1014838920556.
England MJ, Sim LJ, editors. Depression in parents, parenting, and children: Opportunities to improve identification, treatment, and prevention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press;
2009. [ PubMed ].
First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). Structured Clinical Interview for
DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders, research version, patient edition (SCID-I/P). New York:
Biometrics Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Fivush, R., Brotman, M. A., Buckner, J. P., & Goodman, S. H. (2000). Gender differences in parent– child emotion narratives. Sex Roles, 42 (3-4), 233-253. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/docview/619499062?accountid=14816 .
Garner, P. W. (2006). Prediction of prosocial and emotional competence from maternal behavior in african american preschoolers.
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12 (2), 179-
198. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.12.2.179.
Ginsburg, G. S., Grover, R. L., & Ialongo, N. (2004). Parenting behaviors among anxious and nonanxious mothers: Relation with concurrent and long-term child outcomes.
Child & Family
Behavior Therapy, 26 (4), 23-41. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J019v26n04_02.
Gruhn, M.A., Dunbar, J.P., Watson, K.H., Reising, M.M., McKee, L., Forehand, R. et al. (2015).
Testing specificity in the associations between parenting and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children of depressed parents. Manuscript submitted for publication.

34
Lovejoy, M. C., Graczyk, P. A., O'Hare, E., & Neuman, G. (2000). Maternal depression and parenting behavior: A meta-analytic review.
Clinical Psychology Review, 20 (5), 561-592. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/docview/619545217?accountid=14816.
Mandara, J., Murray, C. B., Telesford, J. M., Varner, F. A., & Richman, S. B. (2012). Observed gender differences in african american mother ‐ child relationships and child behavior.
Family
Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 61 (1), 129-141. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00688.x.
Mandara, J., & Pikes, C. L. (2008). Guilt trips and love withdrawal: Does mothers' use of psychological control predict depressive symptoms among african american adolescents?
Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 57 (5), 602-612. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00526.x.
Marcus, M., Yasamy, M.T., Ommeren, M., Chisholm, D., Saxena, S. (2012). Depression: A Global
Public Health Concern . Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/who_paper_depression_wfmh_201
2.pdf
.
McKee, L., Forehand, R., Rakow, A., Reeslund, K., Roland, E., Hardcastle, E., & Compas, B. (2008).
Parenting specificity: An examination of the relation between three parenting behaviors and child problem behaviors in the context of a history of caregiver depression.
Behavior
Modification, 32 (5), 638-658. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0145445508316550.
Melby, J.N., & Conger, R.D. (2001). The Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales: Instrument summary. In P.K. Kerig & K.M. Lindahl (Eds.), Family observational coding systems (pp. 33-
58). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Melby, J. N., Conger, R. D., Book, R., Rueter, M., Lucy, L., Repinski, D., et al. (1998). The Iowa

35
Family Interaction Rating Scales (5th ed.). Unpublished manuscript, Institute for Social and
Behavioral Research, Iowa State Universit
Nelson, J. A., O'Brien, M., Calkins, S. D., Leerkes, E. M., Marcovitch, S., & Blankson, A. N. (2012).
Maternal expressive style and children's emotional development.
Infant and Child
Development, 21 (3), 267-286. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/icd.748.
Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., Mowbray, C. T., & MacFarlane, P. (2002). Positive parenting among african american mothers with a serious mental illness.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 64 (1),
65-77. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/docview/219763952?accountid=14816
Pelaez, M., Field, T., Pickens, J. N., & Hart, S. (2008). Disengaged and authoritarian parenting behavior of depressed mothers with their toddlers.
Infant Behavior & Development, 31 (1), 145-
148. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2007.06.002.
Richman, S. B., & Mandara, J. (2013). Do socialization goals explain differences in parental control between black and white parents?
Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied
Family Studies, 62 (4), 625-636. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fare.12022.
Smetana, J. G. (2011). Parenting beliefs, parenting, and parent-adolescent communication in african american families. (pp. 173-197) Praeger/ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/docview/1001918304?accountid=1481
6 .
Sorkhabi, N., & Mandara, J. (2013). Are the effects of baumrind's parenting styles culturally specific or culturally equivalent? Authoritative parenting: Synthesizing nurturance and discipline for optimal child development.
(pp. 113-135) American Psychological Association, Washington,
DC. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/13948-006.

36
U.S. Census Bureau. (2013, August).
America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012.
Retrieved
November 26, 2014, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-570.pdf
.
U.S. Census Bureau (2014 September). Income and Poverty in the United States:2013.
Retrieved
November 26, 2014, from http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.pdf
.
Weissman MM, Warner V, Wickramaratne P, Moreau D, Olfson M. Offspring of depressed parents:
10 years later. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1997;54:932–940. [ PubMed ] Weissman MM,
Warner V, Wickramaratne P, Moreau D, Olfson M. Offspring of depressed parents: 10 years later. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1997;54:932–940. [ PubMed ]

37
Table 1. IFIRS codes used for Parenting Behavior Composite Codes
Parenting Behavior IFIRS Definition
Structure
Warmth
Authoritarian Total
Engagement
Psychological
Control
Communication
1.
Lecture/Moralize (LM) = the extent to which the focal tries to tell another interactor how to think/feel in a way that assumes she is the expert or has superior wisdom.
2.
Indulgent/Permissive (IP-) = the extent to which the focal shows a lack of standards regarding child behavior.
1.
Sensitive/Child Centered (CC)
= the extent to which the parent’s responses are appropriate and based on the speech/behaviors of the child.
2.
Positive Reinforcement (PO) = the extent to which the parent responds positively to appropriate child behavior.
3.
Warmth (WM) = expressions of care, concern, support, and encouragement towards another interactor.
1.
Lecture/Moralize (LM)
2.
Indulgent/Permissive (IP-)
4.
Sensitive/Child Centered (CC-)
5.
Positive Reinforcement (PO-)
6.
Warmth/Support (WM-)
1.
Listener Responsiveness (LR) = the extent to which the focal verbally and nonverbally responds as a listener in a way that shows attentiveness and validation.
2.
Child Monitoring (CM) = the extent to which the parent is knowledgeable about the child’s daily life and activities.
3.
Neglect/Distancing (ND-) = the extent to which the parent minimizes the amount of time, contact, or effort they expend on the child.
1.
Guilty Coercion (GC) = the extent to which the parent tries to achieve goals and change/influence others opinions through the use of contingent complaints, crying, whining, or manipulating.
2.
Intrusiveness (NT) = the extent to which the parent is overcontrolling or domineering in interactions with the child, reflects parent centered rather than child centered behavior.
1.
Communication (CO) = the extent to which the focal communicates needs and wants in a clear, reasonable, and appropriate way.
Note: ‘-‘ indicates that the IFIRS code was reverse-coded

Table 2. Demographic characteristics for whole sample, African American sample, and
European American sample
Overall Sample
(N=111)
African American European American
Sample Sample
(N=31) (N=80)
M SD M SD M SD
Age of Mother 41.38 6.19 39.26 5.67 42.20 6.22
Age of Child 12.31 1.81 12.52 1.86 12.23 1.92
Mothers’ Years of 15.79 2.09 15.03 1.74 16.09 2.15
Education
BDI Scores 10.60 10.54 13.12 12.85 9.62 8.86
Parenting Composites
Structure 11.32 2.40 13.26 1.81 10.56 2.18
Warmth 12.64 3.42 11.97 3.18 12.90 3.50
Authoritarian Total 28.68 4.33 31.29 3.73 27.66 4.14
Engagement 19.19 3.26 17.94 2.62 19.68 3.37
Psychological 4.49 2.12 5.16 1.81 4.23 2.18
Control
Communication 6.46 1.06 6.19 .95 6.56 1.09
Mothers’ Race
N %
African American 31 27.93%
N % N %
European American 80 72.07%
Gender of Child
Female 47 42.3% 10 32.3 37 46.3%
Male 64 57.7% 21 67.7 43 53.8%
38

Running Head: AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHER-CHILD COMMUNICATION
Table 3. Pearson correlations for Parenting Behavior Composites and Demographic Variables
Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Warmth --
7
2. Structure -.08 --
3. Authoritarian Total
4. Engagement
5. Psychological Control
6. Communication
-.83*** .62***
.61*** -.10
--
-.54*** --
-.29*** .23**
.65*** -.14
.36*** -.38*** --
-.59*** .70*** -.38***
7. Age of Mother
8. Age of Child
9. Mothers’ Years of Education
-.05
-.30**
.08
10. BDI Scores
Note . * p < .05; ** p < .01 *** p < .001.
.01
.01
.07
.03
.05
.04
.27**
-.05
.02
.18
-.17
.17
.01
-.21*
.05
-.24*
.13
--
.04 --
-.32** .43***
.21*
.10
-.122=
-.15
8
--
-.10 --
-.10 -.22* --
9 10

AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHER-CHILD COMMUNICATION
Table 4. Linear regression analyses predicting Parenting Behavior Composites.
Predictor
Mothers’ Years of Education
Age of Mother
Age of Child
Child Gender
Race
BDI Score
β
Structure
.14
.13
.01
R 2
.31***
β
Warmth
R 2
.11*
Authoritarian
β
Total
R 2
.24***
Engagement
β R
2
.15**
Psychological
Control
β
R
2
.12*
.03
.06
.05
.02
.01
.25*
-.17
-.21
-.32** .25* -.25* .12
Communication
β
.18
.16
-.36***
R 2
.22***
.14
.02
-.58***
-.11
.01
.01
.16
-.40***
.00
-.09
.17
.06
.02
-.10
.06
-.19*
.10
.13
Note: * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001
40