Mothers With a History of Depression and Their 10-14 Year Old Daughters

The Neural Correlates of Mood and Cognitive Bias in a Population at Risk for Depression: Maternal Cognitive and Emotional Functioning

The purpose of this study is to investigate risk factors associated with depression and how such factors might be transmitted cross-generationally. The investigators are conducting an integrative assessment of emotion regulation and stress reactivity in a group of mothers with and without a history of depression and their daughters.

The purpose of this study is to investigate risk factors associated with depression and how such factors might be transmitted cross-generationally. We are conducting an integrative assessment of emotion regulation and stress reactivity in a group of mothers with and without a history of depression and their daughters. We use a range of methodologies to evaluate these processes, including self-report measures, information-processing performance, HPA-axis functioning and reactivity, and neural responses to emotional stimuli following exposure to stressful experiences.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eligible mothers must read and speak English fluently and have a child between the ages of 9 and 15 years old.
• Mothers must either have no history of psychopathology or have a history of depression during their child's lifetime.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Eligible mothers cannot:

  • currently be in treatment for drug or alcohol abuse
  • have significant symptomatology related to psychopathology outside of depression
  • have a medical history of neurological injury or impairment.

• Mothers who meet the requirements for inclusion in the control group must not have a history of any Axis I disorder.