A longitudinal path model examining the transactional nature of parenting and child externalizing behaviors in a large, sociodemographically diverse sample.

Children's externalizing behaviors are associated with impairments across the lifespan. Developmental psychopathology theories propose transactional (bidirectional) associations between child externalizing behaviors and parenting during childhood and adolescence. Yet, these foundational relations in early childhood are not well-studied. Utilizing a large, mixed-sex sample, we examined the reciprocal nature of parenting and child externalizing behaviors across early childhood using robust repeated-measures models. Repeated measures data were drawn from a socioeconomically diverse, longitudinal pregnancy cohort of 1287 (64% Black, 31% White) mother-child dyads at four time points (ages one to six). Three variables were included in cross-lagged panel models: observed parenting quality, child externalizing symptoms, and a maternal risk composite. In covariate-adjusted models, higher parenting quality at Wave 1 predicted lower child externalizing symptoms at Wave 2. Higher externalizing symptoms at Wave 1 and Wave 2 predicted lower parenting quality at Wave 2 and Wave 3, respectively. Maternal risk and parenting quality were not significantly associated. Findings showed both parent-driven and child-driven effects across early childhood that did not vary by child sex. The transactional nature of the parent-child relationship begins in infancy, underscoring the importance of early screening and provision of supports for families to minimize and prevent the development of serious psychopathology.

Prenatal influences across the life course: Biobehavioral mechanisms of development.

Despite the well-established importance of prenatal experiences for offspring health throughout the lifespan, our understanding of prenatal influences on psychological outcomes faces challenges due to a wide-ranging and somewhat fragmented literature. Here, we introduce the special issue of Developmental Psychology, "Prenatal Influences Across the Life Course: Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Development," which draws together a broad collection of 12 empirical studies and one review article. These studies illustrate the diversity in biobehavioral mechanisms and biopsychosocial processes that help explain the long-term impacts of prenatal experiences on human development. Collectively, these studies help to disentangle sources of influence across different life stages (e.g., prenatal from genetic, preconception, and/or postnatal influences) and fill key gaps in the literature, such as the inclusion of minoritized populations currently underrepresented in research, the role of fathers, and protective mechanisms. The research featured in this special issue underscores both the long reach of prenatal influences on child and adolescent development as well as the challenges in observing specific biological mediators given that prenatal risks are currently operationalized as specific or broad cumulative measures. In an effort to organize this complex literature, we propose a guiding framework for how to conceptualize the continued integration of the prenatal environment into the field of developmental psychology. This framework broadens the prevailing dichotomous view of prenatal mechanisms as cumulative or specific to articulate a dimensional approach focused on adaptation. We anticipate that such an approach may uncover meaningful and observable biobehavioral mechanisms of prenatal influence on offspring development in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Do dyadic interventions impact biomarkers of child health? A state-of-the-science narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Early life adversity is related to numerous poor health outcomes in childhood; however, dyadic interventions that promote sensitive and responsive caregiving may protect children from the negative consequences of such exposures. To date, quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have examined the impact of dyadic interventions on a range of individual biomarkers in children, which may elucidate the relation between early stress exposure and transdiagnostic risk factors for prospective poor health. However, the content of interventions, analytic strategies, and findings vary widely across studies, obscuring key themes in the science and hindering policy and research efforts. METHODS: We use a narrative approach to review findings from methodologically rigorous (predominantly RCT) studies of dyadic interventions' impacts on different biomarkers in children, including indicators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic nervous systems (SNS), brain development, inflammation, and intracellular DNA processes. We contribute to this important area of inquiry through integrating findings across biological systems and identifying contextual and mechanistic factors to depict the current state of the field. RESULTS: Evidence suggests dyadic interventions improved PNS functioning and advanced brain maturation. Some studies indicated interventions reduced hair cortisol concentrations, systemic inflammation, and resulted in differences in DNA methylation patterns. Findings did not support main effect-level change in salivary measures of HPA axis activity, SNS activity, or telomere length. Importantly, reviewed studies indicated significant heterogeneity in effects across biological systems, underscoring the importance of contextual factors (e.g., adversity subtype and severity) as potential moderators of effects. Further, findings suggested enhanced parenting behaviors may be a mechanism through which dyadic interventions operate on biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: We close with future policy and research directions, emphasizing the promise of biologically-informed dyadic interventions for understanding and ameliorating the effects of early adversity on transdiagnostic biomarkers of health.

Integrating Biobehavioral and Environmental Components of Developmental Psychopathology via Interpersonal Dynamics: An RDoC-Advancing Model.

Although the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDoC) framework proposes biological and environmental mechanisms intersect in the etiology of psychopathology, there is no guidance on how to define or measure experiences in the environment within the RDoC matrix. Interpersonal dynamics during caregiver-child interactions involve temporal coordination of interacting partners' biobehavioral functioning; repeated experiences of signaling to caregivers and responding to caregivers' signals shape children's subsequent socioemotional and brain development. We begin with a review of the extant literature on caregiver-child dynamics, which reveals that RDoC's units of analysis (brain circuits, physiology, behavior, and self-report) are inextricably linked with moment-to-moment changes in the caregiving environment. We then offer a proof-of-concept for integrating biobehavioral RDoC units and environmental components via caregiver-child dynamics. Our approach uses dynamic structural equation models to estimate within-dyad dynamics involving arousal, social, cognitive, and negative or positive affective processes based on second-by-second changes in parasympathetic activity (RSA) during a conflict discussion and a positive event-planning task. Our results illustrate variation in parent-child RSA synchrony, suggesting differences depending on the driver (i.e., child- or parent-led) and on the unique and intersecting domains involved (e.g., positive or negative affect valence systems). We conclude with recommendations for conducting robust, methodologically rigorous studies of interpersonal dynamics that advance the RDoC framework and provide a summary of the clinical implications of this research. Examining caregiver-child dynamics during and across multiple dyadic interaction paradigms that differentially elicit key domains of functioning can deepen understanding of how caregiver- and child-led interpersonal dynamics contribute to child psychopathology risk.

Prenatal depression and risk of child autism-related traits among participants in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program.

This study evaluated the association between prenatal depression and offspring autism-related traits. The sample comprised 33 prenatal/pediatric cohorts participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program who contributed information on prenatal depression and autism-related traits. Autism-related traits were assessed continuously and at the diagnostic cut-off using the Social Responsiveness Scale for children up to 12 years of age. Main analyses included 3994 parent-child pairs with prenatal depression diagnoses data; secondary analyses included 1730 parent-child pairs with depression severity data. After confounder adjustment, we observed an increase in autism-related traits among children of individuals with prenatal depression compared to those without (adjusted ß = 1.31 95% CI: 0.65, 1.98). Analyses stratified by child sex documented a similar significant association among boys (aß = 1.34 95%CI: 0.36, 2.32) and girls (aß = 1.26 95% CI: 0.37, 2.15). Prenatal depression was also associated with increased odds of moderate to severe autism-related traits (adjusted odds ratio: 1.64, 95%CI: 1.09, 2.46), the screening threshold considered high risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Findings highlight the importance of prenatal depression screening and preventive interventions for children of pregnant individuals with depression to support healthy development. Future research is needed to clarify whether these findings reflect overlap in genetic risk for depression and ASD-related traits or another mechanism.

The role of prenatal violence exposure in the development of disparities in children's adiposity from birth to middle childhood.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether women's exposure to multiple types of violence during childhood and pregnancy was associated with children's BMI trajectories and whether parenting quality moderated those associations. METHODS: A cohort of 1288 women who gave birth between 2006 and 2011 self-reported their exposure to childhood traumatic events, intimate partner violence (IPV), and residential address (linked to geocoded index of violent crime) during pregnancy. Children's length/height and weight at birth and at age 1, 2, 3, 4 to 6, and 8 years were converted to BMI z scores. Observed mother-child interactions were behaviorally coded during a dyadic teaching task. RESULTS: Covariate-adjusted growth mixture models identified three trajectories of children's BMI from birth to 8 years old: Low-Stable (17%), Moderate-Stable (59%), and High-Rising (22%). Children whose mothers experienced more types of IPV during pregnancy were more likely to be in the High-Rising than the Low-Stable (odds ratio [OR] = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.27-5.41) trajectory. Children whose mothers lived in higher crime neighborhoods were more likely to be in the High-Rising than the Low-Stable (OR = 1.11; 95% CI:1.03-1.17) or Moderate-Stable trajectories (OR = 1.08; CI: 1.03-1.13). Main effects of childhood traumatic events and moderation by parenting were not detected. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal experiences of violence during pregnancy increase children's risk for developing overweight, highlighting intergenerational transmission of social adversity in children's health.

Gender Composition in Biomedical Research Grant Submissions and Grant Review Panels Before Versus During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: This study examined the gender composition of career development award applicants and grant review panels during the pandemic compared with that beforehand. Methods: Data were collected from 14 Health Research Alliance (HRA) organizations, which fund biomedical research and training. HRA members provided the gender of grant applicants and grant reviewers during the pandemic (April 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) and prepandemic (April 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020). The signed-rank test compared medians and the chi square test compared the overall gender distribution. Results: The total number of applicants was similar during the pandemic (N = 3,724) and prepandemic (N = 3,882) periods, as was the percentage of women applicants (45.2% pandemic vs. 44.9% prepandemic, p = 0.78). The total number of men and women grant reviewers declined during the pandemic (N = 856) compared with that pre-pandemic (N = 1,689); this decrease was driven by a change for the largest funder. Also driven by changes for this one funder, the percentage of total grant reviewers who were women increased significantly during the pandemic (45.9%) compared with that during prepandemic (38.8%; p = 0.001), but the median percentage of women grant reviewers across organizations remained similar during the pandemic (43.6%) and prepandemic periods (38.2%; p = 0.53). Conclusions: In a sample of research organizations, the gender composition of grant applicants and grant review panels remained similar, except for the review panel composition for one large funder. Given evidence from other studies that have revealed gender differences in other career and life experiences of scientists during the pandemic, ongoing evaluation of women's representation in grant submission and review mechanisms is essential.

Endorsement of a single-item measure of sleep disturbance during pregnancy and risk for postpartum depression: a retrospective cohort study.

Poor prenatal sleep quality is associated with increased risk for depressive symptoms but may go undetected in brief, busy prenatal care visits. Among non-depressed pregnant participants, we evaluated whether 1) the endorsement of sleep disturbance on a depression questionnaire predicted postpartum depressive symptoms, 2) the strength of these associations was higher than other somatic symptoms of pregnancy and depression (i.e., fatigue, appetite disturbance), and 3) the endorsement of prenatal sleep disturbance varied by participant characteristics. In this retrospective cohort study, participants had a live birth and completed Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) during pregnancy and within 8 weeks postpartum between 2012 and 2017. Participants who were non-depressed during pregnancy (PHQ-9 < 10) were included (n = 3619). We operationalized sleep disturbance, fatigue, and appetite disturbance as endorsement of item 3, 4, and 5 on the PHQ-9, respectively, and postpartum depressive symptoms as PHQ-9 total score ≥ 10. Participant characteristic variables included age, race, ethnicity, parity, gestational age at delivery, and preterm birth. Prenatal sleep disturbance was associated with higher odds of postpartum depressive symptoms (aORs 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3.1 for first trimester; 3.7, 95% CI 1.5-11.5 for second trimester; 3.4, 95% CI 1.9-6.8 for third trimester). Fatigue and appetite disturbance in the first and third trimesters were associated with higher odds of postpartum depressive symptoms. Sleep disturbance varied by race during the first and second trimesters (p < 0.05) and was highest among Black or African American participants (61.8-65.1%). A routinely administered single-item measure of sleep disturbance could identify otherwise lower-risk pregnant individuals who may benefit from depression prevention efforts.

A Multi-Cohort Examination of the Independent Contributions of Maternal Childhood Adversity and Pregnancy Stressors to the Prediction of Children's Anxiety and Depression.

Women's social experiences can have long-term implications for their offspring's health, but little is known about the potential independent contributions of multiple periods of stress exposures over time. This study examined associations of maternal exposure to adversity in childhood and pregnancy with children's anxiety and depression symptoms in a large, sociodemographically diverse sample. Participants were 1389 mother-child dyads (child age M = 8.83 years; SD = 0.66; 42% Black, 42% White; 6% Hispanic) in the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium's three U.S. pregnancy cohorts. Women reported their exposure to childhood traumatic events (CTE) and pregnancy stressful life events (PSLE). Children self-reported on their symptoms of anxiety and depression at age 8-9 years. Regression analyses estimated associations between maternal stressors and children's internalizing problems, adjusting for confounders, and examined child sex as a modifier. Exploratory interaction analyses examined whether geospatially-linked postnatal neighborhood quality buffered effects. In adjusted models, PSLE counts positively predicted levels of children's anxiety and depression symptoms ([ßAnxiety=0.08, 95%CI [0.02, 0.13]; ßDepression=0.09, 95%CI [0.03, 0.14]); no significant associations were observed with CTE. Each additional PSLE increased odds of clinically significant anxiety symptoms by 9% (95%CI [0.02, 0.17]). Neither sex nor neighborhood quality moderated relations. Maternal stressors during pregnancy appear to have associations with middle childhood anxiety and depression across diverse sociodemographic contexts, whereas maternal history of childhood adversity may not. Effects appear comparable for boys and girls. Policies and programs addressing prevention of childhood internalizing symptoms may benefit from considering prenatal origins and the potential two-generation impact of pregnancy stress prevention and intervention.

A path model examination: maternal anxiety and parenting mediate the association between maternal adverse childhood experiences and children's internalizing behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Children of mothers with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk for developmental problems. However, the mechanisms through which a mother's experience of ACEs are transmitted to her offspring are understudied. The current study investigates potential modifiable mediators (maternal psychopathology and parenting) of the association between maternal ACEs and children's behavioral problems. METHODS: We utilized data from a pregnancy cohort study (N = 1030; CANDLE study) to investigate longitudinal associations between maternal ACEs, postpartum anxiety, observed parenting behavior, and child internalizing behaviors (meanage = 4.31 years, s.d. age = 0.38) in a racially diverse (67% Black; 33% White/Other) sample. We used structural equation modeling to test for direct associations between maternal ACEs and children's internalizing behaviors, as well as indirect associations via two simple mediations (maternal anxiety and parenting), and one serial mediation (sequence of maternal anxiety to parenting). RESULTS: Simple mediation results indicated that maternal anxiety and cognitive growth fostering behaviors independently mediated the association between maternal ACEs and child internalizing. We observed no evidence of a serial mediation from ACEs to internalizing via the effects of maternal anxiety on parenting. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports and refines extant literature by confirming the intergenerational association between maternal ACEs and child internalizing behaviors in a large, diverse sample, and identifies potential modifiable mediators: maternal anxiety and parenting behaviors related to fostering cognitive development. Findings may inform interventions targeting mothers who have experienced ACEs and suggest that providing support around specific parenting behaviors and addressing maternal anxiety may reduce internalizing behaviors in children.

Is it me or my child? The association between maternal depression and children's behavior problems in mothers and their children with or without autism.

Bidirectional associations between maternal depression and child behavior problems have been reported in prior research, however, few studies examine these relations across varied family contexts. This study examined parenting stress and child diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as moderators of bidirectional associations between maternal depression and child behavior problems over time. Our sample included 86 mother-child dyads who reported maternal depressive symptoms, child behavior problems, and parenting stress at three time points over more than 1 year. Approximately half were mothers of children with ASD (n = 41) and half were mothers of neurotypical children (n = 45). We tested the bidirectional associations between maternal depressive symptoms and children's behavior problems and the potential moderating role of parental stress or child ASD diagnosis on these bidirectional associations using aggregated, lagged, and linear mixed models. Even after controlling for lagged maternal depressive symptoms, child behavior problems were associated with greater subsequent maternal depression at the between-person level, but not at the within-person level. The converse relation of prior maternal depressive symptoms on subsequent child behavior problems was not significant. Neither parenting stress nor child ASD diagnosis moderated bidirectional associations between maternal depressive symptoms and children's behavior problems. Child behavior predicted maternal depression, but the converse was not true, regardless of parenting stress levels or child's ASD diagnosis. For mothers experiencing elevated parenting stress and those with children with ASD, this may help alleviate elevated feelings of guilt related to their children's behavior problems.

Integrating Treatment for Maternal Depression and Young Children's Behavior Problems.

It is important to consider reciprocal associations between maternal and offspring mental health problems during early childhood. Existing interventions often focus narrowly on either adult or child mental health, missing the opportunity for holistic care. We describe the rationale and development of a pilot randomized clinical trial that explores their integration, combining an evidence-based parenting intervention with depression treatment to improve both maternal and child outcomes. Our approach is part of a growing field of two-generation interventions that offer a promising approach to enhance mental health support for caregivers and their young children.

Long-term effects of a prenatal mindfulness intervention on depressive symptoms in a diverse sample of women.

OBJECTIVE: Depression is a public health crisis, and scalable, affordable interventions are needed. Although many psychosocial interventions are effective, there is little research investigating their sustained, long-term influence on well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a prenatal mindfulness intervention with demonstrated benefit for women's depressive symptoms during the early postpartum period would exert effects through 8 years. METHOD: The sample of 162 lower income women was racially and ethnically diverse. Women were assigned to receive an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention during pregnancy (MIND) or treatment as usual (TAU). Repeated assessments of depressive symptoms were collected using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 at baseline, postintervention, and following childbirth (1, 2, 3-4, 5, 6, and 8 years from baseline). The most recent assessment of depressive symptoms was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: MIND and TAU women were equivalent on sociodemographic factors and depressive symptoms at baseline. Depressive symptoms at all follow-up assessments through 8 years were significantly lower among women in MIND compared to TAU. The odds of moderate or higher depressive symptoms were greater among TAU compared to MIND women at all time points except the 6-year assessment. By Year 8, 12% of women in MIND reported moderate or more severe depressive symptoms compared to 25% of women in TAU. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the effects of a group-based psychosocial intervention during pregnancy may endure for years, well beyond the initial perinatal period. Investing in prevention and intervention efforts for mental health during pregnancy may have sustained benefits for the well-being of women. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender Differences in National Institutes of Health Grant Submissions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Emerging data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted women in academic medicine, potentially eliminating recent gains that have been made toward gender equity. This study examined possible pandemic-related gender disparities in research grant submissions, one of the most important criteria for academic promotion and tenure evaluations. Methods: Data were collected from two major academic institutions (one private and one public) on the gender and academic rank of faculty principal investigators who submitted new grants to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during COVID-19 (March 1st, 2020, through August 31, 2020) compared with a matched period in 2019 (March 1st, 2019, through August 31, 2019). t-Tests and chi-square analyses compared the gender distribution of individuals who submitted grants during the two periods of examination. Results: In 2019 (prepandemic), there was no significant difference in the average number of grants submitted by women compared with men faculty. In contrast, women faculty submitted significantly fewer grants in 2020 (during the pandemic) than men. Men were also significantly more likely than women to submit grants in both 2019 and 2020 compared with submitting in 2019 only, suggesting men faculty may have been more likely than their women colleagues to sustain their productivity in grant submissions during the pandemic. Discussion: Women's loss of extramural funding may compound over time, as it impedes new data collection, research progress, and academic advancement. Efforts to support women's research productivity and career trajectories are urgently needed in the following years of pandemic recovery.

Gender differences in endowed chairs in Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences from the top-10 NIH-funded medical schools in the US.

The current study examined gender differences in endowed chairs within Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences across the top 10 NIH-funded Schools of Medicine. The names of full professors with and without endowed chairs were collected and a multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to predict having an endowed chair considering gender, primary degree, NIH funding, and citation number. Secondary analyses repeated the models separately for individuals holding an MD or MD/PhD versus those with a non-MD doctoral degree (i.e., PhD). There were 715 full professors (36% women) and 115 endowed chairs (35% women). When adjusting for primary degree type, funding, and citations, women were significantly more likely to hold an endowed chair than men. Secondary models indicated that findings differed based on primary degree type. Among those with an MD or MD/PhD, gender was not associated with holding an endowed chair while among faculty with a PhD, women full professors were significantly more likely to hold an endowed chair than men. These results diverge from a prior study of Departments of Medicine in which endowed chairs were found to favor men.

Young children's traumatic stress reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic: The long reach of mothers' adverse childhood experiences.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted parental and child mental health; however, it is critical to examine this impact in the context of parental histories of adversity. We hypothesized that maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and pandemic-related negative life events would predict child traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) and tested potential mediating pathways through maternal pandemic-related TSS and/or poorer maternal sensitivity during the pandemic. METHODS: Data were collected from a longitudinal sample of low-income, racially/ethnically diverse mothers and their children. Between May and November 2020, mothers (n = 111) of young children (M age = 7.42 years, SD = 0.45) completed questionnaires to assess their own and their child's pandemic-related TSS, exposure to pandemic-related negative events, and parent-child relationship quality. Maternal ACEs, maternal depression, parent-child relationship quality, and child internalizing symptoms had been assessed approximately 1-3 years prior. RESULTS: Structural equation analyses revealed that pandemic negative life events were indirectly associated with child TSS via greater maternal TSS. For mothers, recent pandemic-related negative events were associated with their own TSS, whereas maternal ACEs were not. Maternal ACEs directly predicted greater child TSS, with no evidence of mediation by either maternal TSS or maternal sensitivity. LIMITATIONS: All measures were parent report, and pandemic-related measures were collected at the same time point. CONCLUSIONS: Findings underscore the long reach of mothers' own adverse childhood experiences, highlighting the negative consequences of these prior traumatic exposures alongside current pandemic-related maternal trauma symptoms for children's adjustment during the pandemic.

Trajectories of depressive symptoms among mothers of preterm and full-term infants in a national sample.

To examine postpartum depressive symptom trajectories from birth to age 5 and their risk factors in a national sample of mothers of preterm and full-term infants. The racially and ethnically diverse sample comprised 11,320 maternal participants (Mage = 29; SD = 5.9) in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program in the USA with data on newborn gestational age at birth (≥ 22 weeks) and maternal depression symptoms during the first 5 years following childbirth. Growth mixture models determined the number and trajectory of postpartum depression classes among women in the preterm and full-term groups, and we examined predictors of class membership. Five trajectories described depressive symptoms for both groups; however, notable differences were observed. One in 5 mothers of preterm infants developed clinically relevant depressive symptoms over time compared with 1 in 10 mothers of full-term infants. Among women who delivered preterm compared with those who delivered full-term, symptoms were more likely to increase over time and become severe when offspring were older. Distinct subgroups describe mothers' depressive symptom trajectories through 5 years following childbirth. Mild to moderate depressive symptoms may onset or persist for many women beyond the initial postpartum period regardless of newborn gestational age at birth. For women with preterm infants, initially mild symptoms may increase to high levels of severity during the preschool and toddler years.

Intergenerational transmission of maternal childhood adversity and depression on children's internalizing problems.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood trauma exacts a lasting toll on one's own mental health and the health of one's offspring; however, limited research has examined the pathways through which this intergenerational transmission occurs. This study aimed to identify the transactions and mechanisms that link maternal early life trauma, maternal depressive symptoms, and children's internalizing symptoms. METHOD: A pregnancy cohort of N = 1462 mothers (66% Black, 32% White, 2% Other race) reported their childhood trauma exposure and depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Maternal depressive and children's internalizing symptoms were measured repeatedly when offspring were 12, 24, 36, and 48-60 months of age. A path model tested the transactional associations between maternal and child symptomatology and mediation of maternal childhood trauma on offspring symptoms via maternal depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Mothers' childhood trauma history was related to greater prenatal and postnatal (12 and 24 months) maternal depressive symptoms, which were prospectively associated with offspring internalizing problems at 36 and 48-60 months. Child-directed effects on maternal depressive symptoms were not observed. The association of maternal trauma on children's internalizing at 36 months was mediated by maternal depressive symptoms at 24 months. LIMITATIONS: Assessments of the key study variables were provided by mothers. Childhood trauma was evaluated retrospectively. CONCLUSION: Women's experiences of adversity in childhood have persistent and cumulative effects on their depression during the transition to parenthood, which is associated with risk for children's internalizing. Given the two-generation influence of maternal childhood trauma exposure, attending to its impact may protect both caregivers and their children.