Two areas of social and affective development are being investigated in offspring of normal and depressed (major and bipolar) mothers. Children are studied at 2 to 3 years of age and siblings at 5 to 8 years of age. They are followed-up three years later. Inhibited behavior and signs of affective (dysthymic or depressed) disturbance are studied. Inhibited behavior in the face of the unfamiliar (places, persons) is observed in semi-naturalistic but standard settings, at both periods of measurement. Based on very preliminary findings, children's inhibited behavior does not appear to differ by diagnostic category of parent. However, normal mothers tend to use positivie expressions to help the child in the face of distress and inhibition whereas depressed mothers respond negatively. To assess the affective status of the children, psychiatric assessments of 2- and 3-year-olds were made using a play interview. A structured psychiatric interview was used with the 5- to 8-year-olds. There is little difference by diagnostic group of the mother in the assessments of the younger children, but among the school-age childen, dysthymic and depressed affects are more frequent in the offspring of depressed women than in the offspring of the well mothers.
