Families in which one or both parents are diagnosed as being depressed are observed in this ongoing study of how the behavior of depressed parents relates to the child's present and long-term development. Each family which enters the study has a child approximately two years old and a child between five and seven years old. Families are initially observed for three half-days in a research apartment setting. A second assessment is conducted three years later. The findings are primarily from the first assessment, with some from the second, and emphasize data on the behavior of depressed mothers. Findings on the child rearing behaviors of mothers indicated that while there are behaviors common to depressed mothers as a group, there are also unique and extreme patterns which appear in subgroups of depressed mothers. Such patterns include (1) extremely high frequencies of negative affect, (2) evidence of mixed messages given to the child, and (3) displays of tense and prolonged physical affection. (PCB)