The purpose of this set of studies is to examine the patterning of natural discourse of well and depressed women and their young children, and the alternate environmental supports available to young children from their older siblings. The procedural details of the study were reported in Z01MH02229-01. The observed differences in amount of vocalization in the mothers; behaviors with their 2- to 3- year-olds 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 thus learning both to keep social interaction to a minimum and to be overreactive to even mild stresses. A question raised by these results concerns the possible long-term sequelae for the children of depressed mothers exposed to this aberrant patterning of communication with their mothers. Conversation between mother and child, and sibling and child are now being examined. Total amount of vacalic behavior of each member of the dyad and the time to initiate vocalization after the other member of the dyad has ceased vocalizing will be recorded. Analysis was discontinued temporarily during this past year.
