Disentangling the "who" and "when" of parents' depressive symptoms: A daily diary study analysis.

ABSTRACT

Parents' depressive symptoms vary across days, but factors predicting this fluctuation are not well understood. The present study utilized ecological momentary assessments to capture 1620 days of parents' lived experience in a diverse sample of 146 mothers and fathers from Appalachia who reported on daily fluctuation in family chaos, family financial hardship, and lack of social support, as well as depressive symptoms every day for 14 consecutive days. Data were analyzed using a multilevel modeling framework. Results reveal that on days when parents experience higher family chaos, higher family financial hardship, and lower social support than they typically do, they also experience greater depressive symptoms. Daily linkages between low social support and depressive symptoms were uniform across families. In contrast, daily linkages between depressive symptoms and family financial hardship and chaos were strongest among families who experienced chronic levels of adversity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).