Caregiving and care seeking as predictors of depression in girls: a pilot study of parenting in mother-daughter dyads

This study investigated how individual differences in the quality of maternal parenting, (i.e. caregiving) and daughter attachment security (i.e. care seeking) contribute to depressive symptoms in daughters. The Parenting Role Interview (PRI), was used to estimate the quality of mothers’ parenting in a sample of 25 UK-based mother-adolescent daughter dyads (daughters were adolescents, with a mean age of 13.6 (± 1.5) years). Levels of depression were assessed in both mothers and daughters using appropriate versions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and daughters also completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Results showed that daughter-mother attachment security and maternal parenting quality were both linked to daughter depression levels, however in a regression analysis, only attachment security predicted daughter depressive symptoms, suggesting that the daughter's internalised bond with her mother hold more significance for psychological health outcomes.