Neurophysiological Correlates of Self-monitoring Differentially Moderate the Relation Between Maternal Depression and Children’s Behaviour Problems

Research in developmental psychopathology has advanced our understanding of emotional dysregulation underlying children’s behavioural problems and their association with maternal depression. Neurophysiological measures may further clarify these relations. The ERN (errorrelated negativity) is an event-related potential commonly used to assess self-monitoring, with large amplitudes reflecting internalizing and small amplitudes reflecting externalizing symptoms. The present study investigated the effect of ERN amplitude on the relation between maternal depression and internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of children referred for aggressive behaviour. ERN amplitudes were recorded while 50 children (8-10 years of age) engaged in a go/no-go emotion induction task. Results indicated an association between high ERN amplitudes and internalizing behaviour and between small ERN amplitudes and externalizing behaviours for children with depressed mothers. These findings suggest that the degree of self-monitoring (indexed by ERN amplitude) moderates the relation between maternal depression and psychopathological outcomes in children.