The British Journal of Psychiatry 152: 24-27 (1988)
© 1988 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Depression and perceptions of early parenting: a longitudinal investigation

IH Gotlib, JH Mount, NI Cordy and VE Whiffen
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

It has been suggested that the quality of early parenting received by depressed adults is more negative than that received by non-depressed people. Since perceptions of parenting are usually examined only when subjects are depressed, depressed subjects' negative reports may be distortions due to their depression, rather than accurate recollections. In the present study, both depressed and remitted women reported experiencing greater parental overprotection than did non- depressed women, but only depressed subjects also reported less parental caring. The results are discussed with respect to the early experiences of depressed individuals, the distinction between parental caring and overprotection, and the importance of interpersonal factors associated with depression.

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