The speech behavior of 14 depressed and 18 nondepressed mothers during conversation with their 3-year-old children was examined in this study. Given the general motor retardation, the reduced energy level and the social withdrawal of depressed individuals, the speech patterns of depressed mothers were predicted to differ from the speech patterns of well mothers. The results were consistent with the preliminary findings reported in last year's Annual Report. Depressed mothers vocalized less often and responded less quickly to the cessation of their children's speech than healthy mothers. However, in a mildly stressful situation, (awaiting a doctor's visit), the depressed mothers, but not the healthy mothers, significantly increased their level of speech productivity. Children of the depressed mothers spoke less than children of healthy women, particularly while sitting and eating lunch with their mothers. The observed differences in the mothers' behaviors were interpreted as an indication that the two groups of children are exposed to very different patterns of socialization. The offspring of depressed women are being taught both to keep social interaction to a minimum and to be overreactive to even mild stresses. The differences in the children's behavior may indicate that already these 3-year-old children have learned to keep their interactions with their mother to a minimum. This manner of adaptation may have negative effects on the child's continued social, emotional and cognitive development. Preliminary analyses are available from the second study which focused on voice characteristics of the mother in an interview in which she was questioned concerning the dominant mood state of her child, her husband and herself. Overall the depressed mothers reported less positive mood states for all family members than did the normal women. However, even when restricting the assessed speech sample to statements with a positive or neutral content, the range of the voice's frequency was restricted for the depressed women.
