Children of mothers with remitted depression A 2016 study (http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/26451509) investigated parallels between affect recognition in mothers with remitted depression and their children. They examined two groups—a group of remitted depressed mothers and a group of healthy mothers. Mothers with remitted depression showed a higher accuracy and response bias for sadness.

The authors found corresponding results in their children.

Children of remitted depressed mothers appeared to be exposed to a sadness processing bias outside acute depressive episodes. This could make children of depressed mothers more vulnerable to depressive disorders themselves.

a. Identify the response variable and the explanatory variable.

b. Is this study an observational study or an experiment?

Explain.

c. Can we conclude that a child’s depressive disorder could be the result of having a mother with remitted depression? Explain.