Maternal Psychopathology Symptoms, Perceived Social Support from Friends and Family, and Parenting Behavior in Families Seeking Therapy

This study examined relations of mothers' levels of dysphoric and intrusive/avoidance trauma symptoms with their authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting in 105 families seeking therapy at a clinic regarding problems involving child and family functioning. Mothers' reports of social support from friends and from family each were tested as buffers of relations between types of symptoms and forms of parenting behavior. Mothers reported mild to moderate symptoms. Although dysphoric and intrusive/avoidance symptoms were positively correlated with permissive parenting in univariate analyses, in regression analyses that included social support, symptoms were not significantly related to parenting. Support from friends predicted less permissive parenting but not authoritative and authoritarian parenting. Support from friends moderated the relation between dysphoric moods and permissive parenting. Higher family support was related to greater authoritative, lower authoritarian, and lower permissive parenting, but did not moderate the link between symptoms and parenting. Implications for family therapy are discussed.