Children's responses to low parental mood.: I:: Balancing between active empathy, overinvolvement, indifference, and avoidance

Objective: The aims were to study children's behavioral and emotional responses to parental low mood, and the associations of these responses with parental depressive symptoms and the children's own mental distress. Method: The community sample consists of 990 twelve-year-old Finnish children and their mothers (843) and fathers (573). The children's responses were elicited by inquiring about their behaviors and feelings when their mothers and their fathers were feeling down. Results: Cluster analysis identified four response patterns: the Active Empathy, Emotional Overinvolvement, Indifference and Avoidance. The Emotional Overinvolvement and the Avoidance groups reported more depressive and externalizing symptoms than the other two groups. The patterns did not vary on the basis of variation in the level of parental depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Children are sensitive members of their families and feel for their parents. Their responses can reflect both adaptive and nonadaptive patterns.