Parenting attitudes and styles have been shown to mediate the effects of the child's temperament on depression (Katainen, Raikkonen, Keskivaara & Keltikangas-Jarvinen, 1999). The researchers studied a cohort of 389 Finnish children over a nine-year period starting at the age of six. The randomly selected sample (199 girls and 190 boys) answered questions about their temperament, their mother's child-rearing attitudes, and their depressive tendencies. The results were similar for boys and girls. Perceived child difficulties (i.e., low cooperativeness, negative emotionality, and high activity) predicted an increase in mother's hostile child-rearing attitudes (i.e., low tolerance, child's low emotional significance, and strict disciplinary style). Mother's hostile childrearing attitudes, in turn, predicted child depressive tendencies. For girls, but not for boys, mother's role satisfaction (i.e., satisfaction as a mother, as a spouse, and with work) was directly related to child's depressive tendencies. The results support the notion that mother's childrearing attitudes can mediate the effects of the child's personality on the child's affect. Parenting can also moderate the effects of life events on an adolescent's mental health. Wagner, Cohen, and Brook (1996) prospectively studied a group of 517 adolescents who were between the ages of 11 and 21 years old at a ten-year follow-up to the initial assessment. The sample consisted of 242 girls and 275 boys and was 96.5% Caucasian American. The results showed that positive and warm parent-child relationships reduced the effects of stressful life events (and, subsequently, the level of depression) for both males and females. More authoritarian and harsh parenting increased the effects of stressful life events (and, subsequently, the level of depression) for both males and females. Therefore, the parent-child relationship can be considered to be an important moderator of stressful life events.