The impact of maternal mental health and child's behavioural difficulties on attributions about child behaviours

The effects of maternal mental health and child's behavioural difficulties upon mothers' attributions for negative child behaviour were examined. A community sample of 70 mothers of children aged about 9 years were interviewed in depth and the interviews transcribed. Transcripts were analysed for spontaneous attributions which were subsequently coded on the dimensions of internality, controllability, stability, universality and globality. Mothers with mental health problems made the same number of attributions about negative behaviours as normal mothers. However, more internal-to-self and global attributions were made by the group with mental health problems. This pattern was demonstrated regardless of the child's level of behavioural difficulties. The increase in negative attributions by mothers with mental health problems is not the result of the association between maternal mental health and child's behavioural difficulties. Mothers with mental health problems do not explain their child's negative behaviours in a way that is typical of normal mothers, and reasons for this are discussed