Maternal drug use, personality, child-rearing practices, and toddlers' sadness.

We investigated the influence of maternal drug use/personality attributes and child-rearing on 2-yr-olds' sadness. The sample consisted of 62 girls and 53 boys and their mothers. Analysis showed maternal parenting practices served as a mediator for the effect of the mothers' personalities on the children's feelings of sadness. Moreover, the mothers' personality traits of low interpersonal difficulty, anxiety, and depression were important in enhancing low maternal alcohol or illegal drug use, leading to less sadness in the children.