Abstract

Maternal depression and socioeconomic status (SES) have both been linked to a range of cognitive and socioemotional outcomes in children. This study examines parental teaching strategies (amount of task information and quality of motivational support provided) as Potential mediators of the link SES and maternal depressive symptoms share with children's motivation to learn. Parent-child dyads attended two laboratory visits approximately one year apart (mean child age at wave 1=26 months; wave 2= 41 months). Cross-sectional and longitudinal mediation were examined. At W1, the amount of information and quality of motivational support provided by mothers in a learning task mediated the link between SES and children's motivation to learn. However, maternal depression had no effect on teaching or children's motivation to learn. At W2, an opposite pattern of results emerged: SES only predicted the amount of task information provided by mothers, whereas motivation support mediated the relation between maternal depression and child motivation to learn. Although no mediation was found in the longitudinal results, it was found that motivation support provided by mothers when children were 26 months predicted motivation to learn at 41 months, over and above the effects of children's motivation to learn at 26 months. This suggests a shift in the influence of SES and maternal depression on parenting and child outcomes, while emphasizing the importance of the motivation support provided by mothers in children of young age. More extended longitudinal work is needed to determine the developmental trajectories of the link between these factors.