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Depression and coping disposition among mothers of preschool children in the downtown Eastside

University of British Columbia

Mediating variables in the etiology of depression in mothers of preschool children have been the focus of numerous investigations since Brown, Brolchain, and Harris (1975) identified that women with a child under the age of six have a high prevalence of depression. The question that remains is why not all mothers suffer from depression under similar sets of social circumstances. Coping behaviors have been identified as one of the mediators between life strains and health status and the relationship of coping and depression remains to be an important concept in treatment and prevention of depression. A group of sixty-three mothers with at least one preschool child age five and under voluntarily completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, a self-report depression scale, and a coping disposition measure. Results indicated a significant negative linear relationship between depression and coping disposition. As depression scores increased coping disposition decreased, and inversely depression scores decreased as coping disposition increased. Findings suggest that a re-examination of present social policies and a renewed look at treatment and prevention strategies of depression in mothers of preschool children are in order.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2008-09-16

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2051

Social Work

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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