Maternal depression, adult attachment, and children's emotional distress.

Introduction: Our goal was to evaluate the impact of depressed mothers' marital intimacy and attachment security in romantic relationships on children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Method: Forty-six clinically depressed mothers rated attachment security, marital intimacy, and symptoms shown by their children aged 8 to 12.

Results: Maternal avoidance of closeness predicted increases in children's internalizing symptoms over a 6-month period.

Twenty years of progress in the study of trauma.

In this article, the authors argue that studies investigating the nature of traumatic memory have made the greatest contribution to trauma research in the past 20 years. Neuroimaging studies provide empirical support for the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and have important implications for the treatment of trauma survivors. In the future, the authors hope to see an empirically derived model of trauma that incorporates both mediating and moderating factors to predict outcome.

Mediators of the link between childhood sexual abuse and emotional distress: a critical review.

A history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a risk factor for adult emotional distress, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, dissociation, and trauma. However, CSA is likely associated with adult distress indirectly through an impact on mediating variables. In a review of the empirical literature, the authors found support for the roles of shame or self-blame, interpersonal difficulties, and avoidant coping strategies as mediators.

Are gender differences in depression explained by gender differences in co-morbid anxiety?

Background: This review tested the hypothesis that gender differences in depression rates are a function of gender differences in co-morbid anxiety disorders.

Method: We identified studies using diagnostic criteria, and reporting rates of pure depression, pure anxiety and co-morbid depression and anxiety, separately for females and males. The results of these studies were examined to assess the level of support for the co-morbidity hypothesis.

Parental care and personality in melancholic and nonmelancholic depression.

The authors hypothesized that low parental care is linked to nonmelancholic depression through depressive personality traits and personality dysfunction. This hypothesis was tested using path analysis with data provided from a sample of patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression and distinguished on the basis of melancholic symptoms. The results supported their hypothesis.