HELPLESSNESS IN CHILDREN OF DEPRESSED AND NONDEPRESSED MOTHERS

Helpless behaviors in 5- to 7-year-old children of depressed and nondepressed mothers were assessed through direct observation, interviews, and teacher ratings. The affective tone the mothers set in a joint puzzle task and their tendency to encourage mastery or become intrusive when their children became frustrated at the task were also assessed. Although depressed mothers set a more negative affective tone than nondepressed mothers during solvable puzzles, there were few significant differences between the 2 groups of mothers and children. Still, mothers who were more negative and hostile and less able to encourage mastery in their children had children who exhibited more helpless behaviors in the puzzle task, who were less likely to endorse active problem-solving approaches to frustrating situations, and whose teachers rated the children as less competent and more prone to helpless behaviors.