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Bruce E Compas,
Jennifer E Champion,
Rex Forehand,
David A Cole, Kristen L Reeslund,
Jessica Fear,
Emily J Hardcastle,
Gary Keller,
Aaron Rakow,
Emily Garai,
Mary Jane Merchant,
Lorinda Roberts
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ABSTRACT: In a randomized clinical trial with 111 families of parents with a history of major depressive disorder (86% mothers, 14% fathers; 86% Caucasian, 5% African-American, 3% Hispanic, 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 4% mixed ethnicity), changes in adolescents' (mean age = 11 years; 42% female, 58% male) coping and parents' parenting skills were examined as mediators of the effects of a family group cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention on adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
Changes in hypothesized mediators were assessed at 6 months, and changes in adolescents' symptoms were measured at a 12-month follow-up.
Significant differences favoring the family intervention compared with a written information comparison condition were found for changes in composite measures of parent-adolescent reports of adolescents' use of secondary control coping skills and direct observations of parents' positive parenting skills. Changes in adolescents' secondary control coping and positive parenting mediated the effects of the intervention on depressive, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms, accounting for approximately half of the effect of the intervention on the outcomes. Further, reciprocal relations between children's internalizing symptoms and parenting were found from baseline to 6-month follow-up.
The present study provides the first evidence for specific mediators of a family group cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention for families of parents with a history of major depressive disorder. The identification of both coping and parenting as mediators of children's mental health outcomes suggests that these variables are important active ingredients in the prevention of mental health problems in children of depressed parents.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 10/2010; 78(5):623-34. · 4.85 Impact Factor
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Bruce E Compas,
Rex Forehand,
Gary Keller,
Jennifer E Champion,
Aaron Rakow, Kristen L Reeslund,
Laura McKee,
Jessica M Fear,
Christina J M Colletti,
Emily Hardcastle,
Mary Jane Merchant,
Lori Roberts,
Jennifer Potts,
Emily Garai,
Nicole Coffelt,
Erin Roland,
Sonya K Sterba,
David A Cole
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ABSTRACT: A family cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention for parents with a history of depression and their 9-15-year-old children was compared with a self-study written information condition in a randomized clinical trial (n = 111 families). Outcomes were assessed at postintervention (2 months), after completion of 4 monthly booster sessions (6 months), and at 12-month follow-up. Children were assessed by child reports on depressive symptoms, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems; by parent reports on internalizing and externalizing problems; and by child and parent reports on a standardized diagnostic interview. Parent depressive symptoms and parent episodes of major depression also were assessed. Evidence emerged for significant differences favoring the family group intervention on both child and parent outcomes; strongest effects for child outcomes were found at the 12-month assessment with medium effect sizes on most measures. Implications for the prevention of adverse outcomes in children of depressed parents are highlighted.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 12/2009; 77(6):1007-20. · 4.85 Impact Factor
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10/2009; , ISBN: 9780470479193
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ABSTRACT: The present study examined the role of children and adolescents' perceptions of self-blame specific to interparental conflict and children and adolescents' coping behaviors in the context of parental depression as predictors of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 108 youth (age 9-15 years old) of parents with a history of depression. Higher levels of current depressive symptoms in parents were associated with higher levels of interparental conflict and higher levels of internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents, and interparental conflict was positively associated with both internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children/adolescents. Consistent across a series of multiple regression models, children and adolescents' perceptions of self-blame and use of secondary control coping (acceptance, distraction, cognitive restructuring, positive thinking) were significant, independent predictors of both internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
Journal of Family Psychology 10/2009; 23(5):762-6. · 1.66 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In a sample of 72 mothers with and without a history of depression and their adolescent children, maternal depression history, current maternal depressive symptoms, intrusive and withdrawn parental behavior, and adolescent caretaking behaviors were examined as predictors of adjustment in these youth. Two types of caretaking behaviors were examined: emotional (e.g., caring for a parent's emotional distress) and instrumental (e.g., looking after younger siblings). Although adolescents of mothers with and without a history of depression were comparable on levels of both types of caretaking, caretaking was associated with adolescents' reports of anxiety-depression and mothers' reports of social competence only for adolescents of mothers with a history of depression. Moreover, regression models showed that among children of mothers with a history of depression, emotional, but not instrumental, caretaking was related to adolescents' anxiety-depression symptoms and social competence after controlling for current parental depressive symptoms and stressful parenting behaviors. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
Journal of Family Psychology 05/2009; 23(2):156-66. · 1.66 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study examined maternal sadness and adolescents' responses to stress in the offspring (n = 72) of mothers with and without a history of depression. Mothers with a history of depression reported higher levels of current depressive symptoms and exhibited greater sadness during interactions with their adolescent children (ages 11-14) than mothers without a history of depression. Similarly, adolescent children of mothers with a history of depression experienced higher rates of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than adolescents of mothers without a history of depression. Regression analyses indicated that adolescents' use of secondary control coping mediated the relationship between observed maternal sadness and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, in that higher levels of secondary control coping (e.g., cognitive reframing) were related to fewer symptoms.
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 11/2008; 37(4):736-46. · 1.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Offspring of depressed parents are faced with significant interpersonal stress both within their families and in peer relationships. The present study examined parent and self-reports of adolescents' coping in response to family and peer stressors in 73 adolescent children of parents with a history of depression. Correlational analyses indicated that adolescents were moderately consistent in the coping strategies used with peer stress and family stress. Mean levels of coping were similar across situations, as adolescents reported greater use of secondary control coping (i.e., acceptance, distraction) than primary control coping (i.e., problem solving, emotional expression) or disengagement coping (i.e., avoidance) with both types of stress. Regression analyses indicated that fewer symptoms of self-reported anxiety/depression and aggression were related to using secondary control coping strategies in response to family stress and primary control coping in response to peer stress. Implications for understanding the characteristics of effective coping with stress related to living with a depressed parent are highlighted.
Journal of Adolescence 01/2008; 30(6):917-32. · 2.05 Impact Factor
