Maternal Self-Assessed Health and Emotionality Predict Maternal Response to Child Illness

Abstract

This study examined relations between mothers' neuroticism, depression, and self-assessed health and both behavioral and emotional responses to child illness. Individual difference measures (neuroticism, depression, and health) were completed by 98 mothers who also indicated their responses to hypothetical child illness scenarios. In addition, mothers rated their children's health. Findings indicated that mothers with poorer self-assessed health responded to the vignettes with more negative emotions, reported more extensive caretaking behaviors, tolerated more extreme sick-role behaviors from the child, and rated their child's overall health more poorly. Maternal depression was related to the report of more negative emotions and more extensive caretaking behaviors. Maternal neuroticism was related only to negative affect in response to the vignettes. Findings suggest that mothers' self-assessed health and depressive symptoms may influence their role as caretakers of their children's health and may be important variables in understanding the development of health cognition and behavior in children.