Infants’ empathic concern responses moderate the association between maternal and child depressive symptoms

Although empathic concern abilities typically support adaptive social-emotional functioning, excessive empathic concern may confer risk for emotional difficulties and psychopathology. The current study aimed to examine whether in the context of exposure to maternal depression symptoms (MDS), infant’s empathic concern acts as a “risky strength”. Specifically, we examined whether children’s early empathic concern responses moderate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and toddlers’ depressive / anxiety behaviors. Data were collected at two time points: 3 months (T1) and 24-months (T2) of children’s age (N = 139; 49.6% male). At both timepoints, children’s empathic concern responses towards their mothers were observed and coded. Mothers also reported their own depressive symptoms and children’s depressive/anxiety behaviors. Results indicated that higher MDS at T1 predicted higher child depressive/anxiety symptoms at T2. However, children’s empathic concern moderated this association. Specifically, MDS during infancy predicted higher depressive / anxiety behaviors in toddlerhood only for children who exhibited elevated empathic concern in infancy. These findings align with the risky strength hypothesis and contribute to the understanding of the complex interplay between children’s empathy and their rearing environments.