Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Child Psychiatry & Human Development https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01046-w ORIGINAL ARTICLE Patterns of Associations Between Maternal Symptoms and Child Problem Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Mentalization, Negative Intentionality, and Unsupportive Emotion Socialization Gizem Arikan 1  · Asiye Kumru 1 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract We examined how maternal depression, anxiety, hostility, mentalization, negative intentionality (NI), and unsupportive emotion socialization (UES) predict child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors (CIEPB). Mothers (N = 537) of toddlers (M age = 23.26 months, Range 10–44 months) completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Parental Refective Functioning Questionnaire, the Infant Intentionality Questionnaire, the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale, and the Child Behavior Checklist. All maternal symptoms negatively predicted mentalization and positively predicted NI, UES, and CIEPB. NI and UES mediated the relationship between maternal symptoms and CIEPB. Negative intentionality mediated the link between maternal hostility and internalizing behaviors, indicating a possible intervention area. Mentali- zation had an efect on externalizing behaviors only for high-SES, anxious mothers, underscoring the role of SES. Thus, the relationship between maternal symptoms, cognitive and behavioral parenting characteristics and CIEPB supports the multifnality principle for early childhood psychopathology development and shows the importance of screening for maternal symptoms and CIEPB. Keywords Maternal symptoms · Mentalization · Negative intentionality · Unsupportive emotion socialization · Child problem behaviors Early childhood problem behaviors are known to be the frst indicators of adjustment issues [1, 2], which are leading fac- tors in the development of various psychological problems such as depression [3], substance abuse, and anxiety [4]. Two categories of problem behaviors have been extensively explored—namely, internalizing and externalizing behav- iors [5]. Externalizing behaviors involve aggressive behav- iors and hyperactivity in children, triggered by anger, fear, and frustration, whereas internalizing behaviors typically indicate anxiety and depression in the form of social with- drawal and fearfulness [5]. These problem behaviors become detectable from as early as 12 months [6, 7] and are likely to persist from early childhood [8] into adolescence [9] and adulthood [10]. A wide array of environmental factors and parental char- acteristics, such as personality [11] and parenting behav- iors can contribute to the complexity of child development [12] and the occurrence of problem behaviors. Individual diferences in parental psychopathology, cognitions about parenting, and emotion socialization are highly salient fac- tors in child development. In the relevant literature, parental psychopathology, cognitions, and socializing behaviors are listed as critical etiological factors with unique as well as joint contributions to problem behaviors in young children [13]. For example, maternal depressive symptomatology [14] and maternal anxiety [15] have been associated with both externalization and internalization problems in chil- dren [16–18]. Since psychopathology is also linked with negative cognitions about the self, the world, and the future [19], it can also contribute to negative cognitions and attri- butions towards children [20] as well as negative maternal parenting behaviors and unsupportive emotion socialization [21]. However, there is a lack of research focusing on how * Gizem Arikan gizem.arikan@ozyegin.edu.tr Asiye Kumru asiye.kumru@ozyegin.edu.tr 1 Department of Psychology, Ozyegin University, Nisantepe Mah. Orman Sok. Cekmekoy, Istanbul, Turkey