Dieting and Disinhibited Eating Patterns in Adult Women with Normal Body Weight: Does Rumination Matter?

Dieting and disinhibited eating patterns are presented in both clinical and nonclinical samples. Repetitive negative thinking (i.e., rumination) may lead to maladaptive eating behaviors. While numerous studies have focused on dieting and disinhibited eating behaviors in clinical samples, less is known about these behaviors in nonclinical samples with normal body weight. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore how dieting, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating are related to rumination in adult women with normal body weight. One hundred eighty-eight women (Mage = 29.46 ± 8.94; MBMI = 23.16 ± 4.04) were involved in the current study. The Eating Attitudes Test, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 and the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire were administered to the participants. The results showed that repetitive negative thinking was a partial mediator in the relationship between dieting and uncontrolled eating, as well as in the relationship between dieting and emotional eating. Targeting repetitive negative thinking may be important for reducing disinhibited eating patterns in women with normal body weight.

Error-related negativity predicts increases in anxiety in a sample of clinically anxious female children and adolescents over 2 years.

BACKGROUND: An increased neural response to making errors has emerged as a biomarker of anxiety. Error negativity (Ne) or errorrelated negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential generated when people commit errors; the Ne/ERN is greater among people with anxiety and predicts increases in anxiety. However, no previous study has examined whether the Ne/ERN can be used as a prognostic indicator among people with current anxiety. The present study addressed this gap by examining whether the Ne/ERN prospectively predicts increases in anxiety symptoms in clinically anxious children and adolescents. METHODS: The sample included 34 female participants between the ages of 8 and 14 years who met the criteria for a clinical anxiety disorder based on clinical interview. The Ne/ERN was measured using a flanker task. RESULTS: Increased Ne/ERN at baseline predicted increases in total anxiety symptoms 2 years later, even when accounting for baseline symptoms. The Ne/ERN predicted increases in the symptom domains of generalized anxiety, social anxiety and harm avoidance/perfectionism, but not panic, separation anxiety, school avoidance or physical symptoms. LIMITATIONS: The sample size was small, which may have inflated the false discovery rate. To mitigate this possibility, we used multiple self-report measures, and the results for the 2 measures (as well as their symptom domains) converged. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the Ne/ERN can delineate specific risk trajectories, even among those who already meet the criteria for a clinical anxiety disorder. Considering the need for prognostic markers among people with clinical anxiety, the current findings are an important and novel extension of previous work.

Associations of physical activity, sedentary time, and physical fitness with mental health during pregnancy: The GESTAFIT project.

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to analyze the associations of objectively measured physical activity (PA), sedentary time, and physical fitness with mental health in the early second trimester (16 ± 2 gestational weeks) of pregnancy. METHODS: From 229 women initially contacted, 124 pregnant women participated in the present cross-sectional study. Data were collected between November 2015 and March 2017. The participants wore Actigraph GT3X+ Triaxial accelerometers for 9 consecutive days to objectively measure their PA levels and sedentary time. A performance-based test battery was used to measure physical fitness. Self-report questionnaires assessed psychological ill-being (i.e., negative affect, anxiety, and depression), and psychological well-being (i.e., emotional intelligence, resilience, and positive affect). Linear regression analyses were adjusted for age, educational level, accelerometer wear time, miscarriages, and low back pain. RESULTS: Moderate-to-vigorous PA was negatively associated with depression (ß = -0.222, adjusted R2 = 0.050, p = 0.041). Higher levels of sedentary time were negatively associated with positive affect (ß = -0.260, adjusted R2 = 0.085, p = 0.017). Greater upper-body flexibility was positively associated with better emotional regulation (ß = 0.195, adjusted R2= 0.030, p = 0.047). The remaining associations were not significant (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: An active lifestyle characterized by higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous PA and lower levels of sedentary time during pregnancy might modestly improve the mental health of pregnant women. Although previous research has focused on the benefits of cardiorespiratory exercise, the present study shows that only upper-body flexibility is related to emotional regulation in early pregnant women. If the present findings are corroborated in further experimental research, physical exercise programs should focus on enhancing flexibility to promote improvements in emotional regulation during early second-trimester of pregnancy.

Social connectedness and negative affect uniquely explain individual differences in response to emotional ambiguity.

Negativity bias is not only central to mood and anxiety disorders, but can powerfully impact our decision-making across domains (e.g., financial, medical, social). This project builds on previous work examining negativity bias using dual-valence ambiguity. Specifically, although some facial expressions have a relatively clear negative (angry) or positive valence (happy), surprised expressions are interpreted negatively by some and positively by others, providing insight into one's valence bias. Here, we examine putative sources of variability that distinguish individuals with a more negative versus positive valence bias using structural equation modeling. Our model reveals that one's propensity toward negativity (operationalized as temperamental negative affect and internalizing symptomology) predicts valence bias particularly in older adulthood when a more positive bias is generally expected. Further, variability in social connectedness (a propensity to seek out social connections, use those connections to regulate one's own emotions, and be empathic) emerges as a notable and unique predictor of valence bias, likely because these traits help to override an initial, default negativity. We argue that this task represents an important approach to examining variability in affective bias, and can be specifically useful across the lifespan and in populations with internalizing disorders or even subclinical symptomology.

Thought Suppression in Primary Psychotic Disorders and Substance/Medication Induced Psychotic Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: First episode-psychosis (FEP) represents a stressful/traumatic event for patients. To our knowledge, no study to date has investigated thought suppression involved in FEP in a Romanian population. Our objective was to investigate thought suppression occurring during FEP within primary psychotic disorders (PPD) and substance/medication induced psychotic disorders (SMIPD). Further, we examined the relationship between thought suppression and negative automatic thoughts within PPD and SMIPD. METHODS: The study included 30 participants (17 females) with PPD and 25 participants (10 females) with SMIPD. Psychological scales were administered to assess psychotic symptoms and negative automatic thoughts, along a psychiatric clinical interview and a biochemical drug test. RESULTS: Participants in the PPD group reported higher thought suppression compared to SMIPD group. For the PPD group, results showed a positive correlation between thought suppression and automatic thoughts. For the SMIPD group, results also showed a positive correlation between thought suppression and automatic thoughts. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PPD rely more on thought suppression, as opposed to SMIPD patients. Thought suppression may be viewed as an unhealthy reaction to FEP, which is associated with the experience of negative automatic thoughts and might be especially problematic in patients with PPD. Cognitive behavioral therapy is recommended to decrease thought suppression and improve patients' functioning.

How do adolescents deal with intrusive parenting? The role of coping with psychologically controlling parenting in internalizing and externalizing problems.

INTRODUCTION: While research has shown convincingly that psychologically controlling parenting increases the risk for internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents, little is known about how adolescents cope with such parenting. This study examined the role of two non-autonomous ways of coping (i.e., compulsive compliance and oppositional defiance) and one more autonomous way of coping (i.e., negotiation) in the associations between psychologically controlling parenting and internalizing and externalizing problems. METHOD: Two-wave data from a larger longitudinal study with Belgian adolescents (N = 198; 51% female; mean age = 14.89 years, range = 13-17 years) were analyzed using multilevel modeling. RESULTS: The results showed that oppositional defiance exacerbated associations between psychologically controlling parenting and externalizing problems at the between-person level of analysis. Both compulsive compliance and negotiation exacerbated the association with internalizing problems at the within-person level. In addition to these moderating effects, both oppositional defiance and negotiation played a partly mediating role in associations between psychologically controlling parenting and externalizing problems and oppositional defiance partly mediated associations between psychologically controlling parenting and internalizing problems at the between-person level. CONLUSION: Overall, results suggest that oppositional defiance and compulsive compliance are rather dysfunctional coping responses and that negotiation is a mixed blessing. Directions for future research are discussed.

The association between parenting and the error-related negativity across childhood and adolescence.

Anxiety is the most common form of psychopathology, and it is often characterized by chronic impairment across the lifespan. Researchers have identified core neural markers that confer risk for anxious outcomes. An increased error-related negativity (ERN) in anxious individuals has been shown to prospectively predict onset of anxiety disorders across development. Hence, it is critical to examine environmental factors that may shape the ERN. In the current study, we use a large sample of 170 female adolescents aged 10-17 to investigate whether the ERN mediates the relationship between parenting style and anxiety diagnostic status. This study replicates previous findings, and it extends previous work by suggesting that this relationship is more robust in young children as compared to adolescents. Interventions targeting the ERN via parenting may be most effective during childhood.

Negative centralisation of HIV/AIDS trauma and health-related quality of life: do post-traumatic stress symptoms explain the link?

Over-integration of HIV-related trauma into the client's memory in a negative emotional valence could be a serious health debilitating process which may result in negative post-traumatic health outcomes, affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people living with HIV (PLWH). We hypothesized that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are the mediating link between negative event centrality (NEC) and HRQoL among PLWH. Nine hundred and sixty-nine PLWH in Nigeria completed measures of NEC, PTSD symptoms and HRQoL. Model 4 of Hayes' regression-based PROCESS macro version 3.0 for SPSS was employed to investigate relationships between variables of interest. NEC was positively associated with all domains of HRQoL. PLWH who had high negatively centralized identity on HIV also had high scores on PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were also positively associated with all domains of HRQoL. PTSD symptoms also mediated the relationship between NEC and all domains of HRQoL. Assessing and treating PTSD symptoms among PLWH by clinicians could be helpful in enhancing HRQoL.

Child Effects on Parental Negativity: The Role of Heritable and Prenatal Factors.

This study examined two possible mechanisms, evocative gene-environment correlation and prenatal factors, in accounting for child effects on parental negativity. Participants included 561 children adopted at birth, and their adoptive parents and birth parents within a prospective longitudinal adoption study. Findings indicated child effects on parental negativity, such that toddlers' negative reactivity at 18 months was positively associated with adoptive parents' over-reactive and hostile parenting at 27 months. Furthermore, we found that child effects on parental negativity were partially due to heritable (e.g., birth mother [BM] internalizing problems and substance use) and prenatal factors (e.g., BM illicit drug use during pregnancy) that influence children's negative reactivity at 18 months. This study provides critical evidence for "child on parent" effects.

Negative illness perceptions are related to more fatigue among haematological cancer survivors: a PROFILES study.

Objectives: The common sense model provides a theoretical framework for understanding substantial fatigue among (haematological) cancer survivors based on their illness perceptions. We therefore examined the associations between modifiable illness perceptions and substantial fatigue while controlling for sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological factors (symptoms of depression and anxiety) among haematological cancer survivors.Methods: Data from the population-based PROFILES registry were used. Survivors diagnosed between 1999 and 2013 with Hodgkin lymphoma (N = 164), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (N = 655) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (N = 174) were included. Survivors completed the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Multivariable logistic regressions analyses were performed for the total group and three haematological cancers separately relating illness perceptions to substantial fatigue (>21 FAS).Results: Haematological cancer survivors with illness perceptions that represent more negative consequences (consequences, OR = 1.27; 95%CI = 1.13-1.42); attribute more symptoms to their illness (identity, OR = 1.29; 95%CI = 1.17-1.43); and have a poorer illness understanding (coherence, 1.13; 1.04-1.22) were more often substantially fatigued. For the remaining five illness perceptions, no significant association was found. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors who reported a poor illness understanding (coherence, OR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.06-1.72) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia survivors who reported that treatment can control (OR = 1.25; 95%CI = 1.01-1.55) the illness experienced more often substantial fatigue.Conclusion: Those who experience more consequences of their disease, attribute more symptoms to their illness, and have a poorer illness understanding, have a higher risk to experience substantial levels of fatigue even years after diagnosis. Psychological interventions changing these illness perceptions may be beneficial in reducing fatigue among haematological cancer survivors.

Maternal Use of Media to Regulate Child Distress: A Double-Edged Sword? Longitudinal Links to Toddlers' Negative Emotionality.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not to heavily rely on screen media devices to regulate children's distress, many parents often resort to this regulatory strategy. However, little is known about the long-term implications of using this strategy for children's emotional functioning. To address this issue, this study examined the longitudinal links between the use of media to regulate distress and children's negative emotionality (NE) during toddlerhood, a period in which children strongly rely on external regulation. We also examined whether children with initially high NE were more sensitive to the effects of this regulatory strategy on subsequent NE. Participants were 207 mothers who completed questionnaires assessing child NE, use of media to regulate distress, child screen time, and demographic covariates at 2 time points: 18 months (T1) and 26 months (T2) of children's age. Use of media to regulate child distress at T1 did not directly predict child NE at T2, and vice versa. However, there was a significant interaction between child NE and use of media to regulate distress at T1 in predicting NE at T2. Simple slopes analysis indicated that maternal use of media to regulate distress was positively related to increases in children's NE, but only for children with initially low NE, and not for children with initially high NE. Our findings can inform family-based prevention initiatives that may be delivered in community pediatric settings, aiming at promoting thoughtful use of media in young children's everyday lives.

Impact of personality on adherence to and beliefs about ADHD medication, and perceptions of ADHD in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication can prevent serious consequences, possibly with lifelong effects. Numerous factors have been observed that influence adherent behaviour, but the impact of personality traits has been inadequately explored. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between personality traits and adherence to ADHD medication, beliefs about the medication, and perceptions of ADHD. METHOD: Adolescents (n = 99) on ADHD medication were administered: Health-Relevant Personality Traits Five-Factor Inventory, Medication Adherence Report Scale, Beliefs about Medicines Specific and Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaires. RESULTS: The personality trait Antagonism correlated with adherence behaviour (r = - 0.198, p = 0.005) and perceived personal control of ADHD (r = - 0.269, p = 0.007). Negative Affectivity correlated with beliefs regarding necessity (r = 0.319, p = 0.001), concerns (r = 0.344, p = 0.001), and experienced side effects of medication (r = 0.495, p = 0.001), alongside perceptions regarding duration (r = 0.272, p = 0.007), identity (r = 0.388, p < 0.001), being emotionally affected (r = 0.374, p < 0.01), personal control (r = - 0.287, p = 0.004) and concerns about ADHD (r = 0.465, p < 0.001). Impulsivity correlated with perceived consequences (r = - 0.226, p = 0.0255) and personal control of ADHD (r = - 0.379, p < 0.001). Hedonic Capacity correlated with concerns about medication (r = - 0.218, p = 0.0316) and perceived identification with ADHD (r = - 0.203, p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: Personality traits are related to adherence, beliefs about ADHD medicines and perceptions of ADHD. Antagonism is associated with adherence, especially intentional non-adherence, while Negative Affectivity correlates with numerous perceptions of ADHD and beliefs about medications. Personality assessments could be useful in the care and treatment of adolescents with ADHD.

The Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment Negative Emotionality Domain Among Treatment-Seekers with Alcohol Use Disorder: Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance.

BACKGROUND: The Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA), a framework for measuring heterogeneity in alcohol use disorder (AUD), focuses on 3 domains that reflect neurobiological dysfunction in addiction and correspond to the cycles of addiction: executive function, incentive salience, and negative emotionality. Kwako and colleagues (Am J Psychiatry 176:744, 2019) validated a 3-factor model of the ANA with neuropsychological and self-report indicators among treatment-seekers and non-treatment-seekers with and without AUD. The present analysis replicated and extended these findings in a treatment-seeking sample, focusing on the negative emotionality domain. METHODS: Participants (n = 563; 58.8% male; mean age = 34.3) were part of a multisite prospective study of individuals entering AUD treatment. We examined the factor structure of the negative emotionality domain at the baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up assessments. The Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Trait Anger Subscale, and 3 Drinker Inventory of Consequences items assessing negative affective consequences were indicators in the model. RESULTS: Results indicated that a 1-factor model was an excellent fit at all assessments and that the negative emotionality domain was time and gender invariant. Furthermore, negative emotionality was associated with drinking patterns and reasons for alcohol use (i.e., drinking because of negative emotions and urges/withdrawal) at all assessments. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis provides evidence for the construct validity and measurement invariance of the ANA negative emotionality domain among AUD treatment-seekers. Future studies are needed to evaluate prospective associations between negative emotionality and specific treatment modalities, and whether individuals with greater negative emotionality are more likely to respond to treatment that targets drinking to relieve negative affective states.

The moderating effect of FKBP5 and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms on the day-level association between drinking to cope motivation and negative affect.

Daily levels of drinking to cope (DTC) have been found to be related to negative outcomes such as increased negative affect, and these effects vary across person. We examined whether daily-level effects of DTC motivation were related to two genetic polymorphisms (rs1360780 in the FKBP5 gene and 5-HTTLPR in SLC6A4) thought to be associated with maladaptive drinking and stress-reactivity. We also examined whether these associations changed during the transition from college to post-college life. Participants (N = 839, 55% women) completed an Internet-based 30-day daily diary during college and again five years later in which they reported their previous night's drinking and drinking motivation, and their current day's negative affect. Saliva was collected at wave 1 to provide DNA for genotyping. The within-person association between nighttime DTC motivation and next-day anxiety and depression was stronger (more positive) for FKBP5 rs1360780 T-allele carriers, compared C/C-allele individuals. We also found that 5-HTTLPR L'/S' subjects (but not S'/S' homozygotes), compared to L'/L' homozygotes, showed stronger positive associations between DTC and anxiety. Results for FKBP5 T-allele carriers are discussed in terms of past findings indicating that such individuals tend to demonstrate increased attention toward stressors, thus possibly intensifying the deleterious effects of DTC-motivated drinking.

A negativity bias in detail generation during event simulation.

Novel negative events are simulated in more event-specific detail than novel positive events. In the present study, we set out to assess whether this negative event detail bias is specific to simulations of personal events or whether evoking negative valence, in the context of simulations of personal and nonpersonal events, is sufficient for boosting simulated event detail. Participants simulated novel negative and positive events that might take place in their future, the future of an acquaintance, or the future of a familiar individual with whom they have not had prior contact. Across 2 experiments, we found that novel negative events were simulated in more event-specific detail than novel positive events irrespective of whether the events under consideration were personal or nonpersonal. This pattern of results also emerged when negative and positive events did not differ on a subjective measure of arousal, indicating that negative valence may play a key role in encouraging detailed elaboration of novel negative events. Implications of our findings for the role of event simulation in adaptive behavior are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Heart Rate Variability Predicts Older Adults' Avoidance of Negativity.

OBJECTIVES: The ability to produce situation-appropriate cognitive and emotional responses is dependent on autonomic nervous system (ANS) functionality. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an index of ANS functionality, and resting HRV levels have been associated with cognitive control and inhibitory capacity in young adults, particularly when faced with emotional information. As older adults' greater preference for positive and avoidance of negative stimuli (positivity effect) is thought to be dependent on cognitive control, we hypothesized that HRV could predict positivity-effect magnitude in older adults. METHOD: We measured resting-level HRV and gaze preference for happy and angry (relative to neutral) faces in 63 young and 62 older adults. RESULTS: Whereas young adults showed no consistent preference for happy or angry faces, older adults showed the expected positivity effect, which predominantly manifested as negativity avoidance rather than positivity preference. Crucially, older but not young adults showed an association between HRV and gaze preference, with higher levels of HRV being specifically associated with stronger negativity avoidance. DISCUSSION: This is the first study to demonstrate a link between older adults' ANS functionality and their avoidance of negative information. Increasing the efficiency of the cardiovascular system might selectively improve older adults' ability to disregard negative influences.

Specific or transdiagnostic? The occurrence of emotions and their association with distress in the daily life of patients with borderline personality disorder compared to clinical and healthy controls.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by more frequent and more intense negative emotions and less frequent positive emotions in daily life than healthy controls (HC) experience, but there is limited empirical evidence regarding whether this is a transdiagnostic or disorder-specific finding and which specific emotions are especially distressing in BPD. We assessed participants' current emotions and distress every 15 min over a 24-h period using e-diaries to investigate the frequency, intensity, and the associated distress of specific emotions. To test the disorder specificity, we used multilevel modeling to compare 43 female patients with BPD, 28 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 20 patients with bulimia nervosa (BN), and 28 HC. Patients with BPD exhibited anger more frequently than any of the clinical or healthy control groups, demonstrating specificity. The quality of anger accounted for additional distress beyond the pure emotional intensity. In patients with BPD, joy was associated with reduced distress, which was not the case in HC or PTSD. However, the majority of the comparisons (anxiety, sadness, shame, disgust, jealousy, guilt, interest) revealed transdiagnostic patterns. The distress-enhancing or distress-reducing effects of anger and joy might represent an important part of affective dysregulation in BPD.

Emotional disorder symptoms, anhedonia, and negative urgency as predictors of hedonic hunger in adolescents.

Affect and reward are associated with unhealthy eating and weight; however, less research has examined affective predictors of hedonic hunger (i.e., extreme reward responsivity, pleasure toward, and drive for food), particularly among adolescents. Whether symptoms indicative of emotional disturbance increase risk of adverse reward-based eating-related symptoms such as hedonic hunger, is unknown. Such evidence could explain why emotional problems increase risk of eating and weight problems among adolescents, when eating-related health problems often originate. This report examined baseline emotional disorder symptoms, negative urgency (i.e., tendency to act impulsively in response to negative affect), and anhedonia (i.e., loss of interest in activities and decreased pleasure) as prospective predictors of increases in hedonic hunger in adolescents; associations between changes in emotional disturbance problems and hedonic hunger were also examined. Ninth-grade students (N = 2598) from high schools completed paper-and-pencil surveys at baseline and a 1-year follow-up. In a multivariable model controlling for the covariance of emotional problems, higher negative urgency, general anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and lower anhedonia at baseline independently predicted increases in hedonic hunger one year later. Also, increases in negative urgency, general anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms and decreases in anhedonia independently predicted increases in hedonic hunger. Affect- and reward-related variables may be important contributors to risk of hedonic hunger in adolescence.

The role of parental negative world assumptions in the intergenerational transmission of war trauma.

PURPOSE: Among the most prevalent and adverse sequalae of traumatic experiences are negative world assumptions (WAs), which describe trauma-related negative cognitions regarding the self, the world, and others. Even though a wealth of studies has shown intrapersonal associations between negative WAs and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), there has been little research on how WAs may affect family systems. This study examined the intergenerational associations between parental WAs, paternal PTSS, and maternal secondary traumatic stress (STS) on adult-children's STS in veterans' families. It was hypothesized that negative paternal WAs would mediate the association between parental PTSS/STS and adult-children's STS. METHODS: Three domains of WAs (benevolence of the world, meaningfulness of the world, and self-worth) and PTSS were prospectively assessed in 123 father-mother-offspring triads of former Israeli veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, their wives and adult offspring. Data were collected in 2003, 2008, and 2014, and analyzed using triadic path modeling. RESULTS: Mothers' STS was associated with children's STS via negative maternal WAs on world benevolence. Fathers' PTSS was related to children's STS via fathers' WAs on world benevolence and self-worth. Moreover, fathers' WAs on world benevolence and self-worth mediated the intergenerational transmission of STS from mothers to offspring. No effects were found for meaningfulness WAs. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that parental WAs related to world benevolence and paternal self-worth contribute to intergenerational trauma transmission. Clinical implications favor cognitive and systemic approaches to therapy that address negative benevolence and self-worth assumptions and involve the entire family system.

The effect of maternal depression on mental representations and child negative affect.

BACKGROUND: Maternal depression is a widely recognized public health concern with significant implications for child functioning, including the development of negative child affect and risk for later depression. Negative mental representations may partially account for the association between maternal depression and child negative affect. METHODS: The effect of depression on low-income mothers' representations of their child, self, and mother was assessed via Expressed Emotion (EE) during Five-Minute Speech Samples. Direct and indirect pathways between maternal depression, EE, and child negative affect were examined. Mothers (M = 24 years old) who had experienced a major depressive episode (n = 144) since child's birth, non-depressed comparison mothers (n = 62), and their children participated. RESULTS: Examination of between-group differences revealed that depressed mothers had higher levels of overall self EE. Trend results also suggest depressed mothers may have higher overall EE toward their children and their own mothers. Novel coding systems for EE toward self (Identity and Depressotypic Cognitions) and EE toward mother (Source of Concrete Support and Resolution of Past Adversity) were also developed and tested. A significant indirect relation was found between maternal baseline depression and child negative affect at 26 months via the mother's level of EE-Criticism of her mother. LIMITATIONS: Certain EE subcodes may need to be adapted for young children and high-risk, low-income participants. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlights the importance of relational interventions that focus on maternal representations for women with depression and their children.