Depression and social contacts of children from one-parent families

Abstract

Depressive symptoms and social contacts of 76 children living in one-parent families were assessed through child and parent report measures. In each case, the child was the eldest or only child and was between 6 and 10 years old. The child's relations with peers, siblings, the noncustodial father, the custodial mother, and other adults were examined. Analyses revealed that the overall quality of the child's social contacts was a better predictor of depressive symptoms than was frequency of contact. In general, the quality of relationships with other adults was the best single predictor of symptoms. However, for the subgroup of families in which there were siblings present, quality of the child's relationship with siblings was a marginally significant predictor. Results suggest the importance of nonparental relationships in moderating the child's self-reported depressive symptoms.