Parent Depression and Child Anxiety: An Overview of the Literature with Clinical Implications

The association of parental depression with child anxiety has received relatively little attention in the literature. In this paper we initially present several reasons for examining this relationship. We then summarize the empirical support for a link between these two variables. Finally, we discuss directions for future research and clinical implications of an association of parental depression with child anxiety

Associations of Parent–Child Anxious and Depressive Symptoms When a Caregiver Has a History of Depression

We examined the associations between parent and child anxious and depressive symptoms controlling for co-occurring symptoms in both. One hundred and four families participated, including 131 9–15 year old children considered at risk for anxiety and/or depression due to a history of depression in a parent. Parents and children completed questionnaires assessing depressive and anxious symptoms. Linear Mixed Models analyses controlling for the alternate parent and child symptoms indicated that both parent and child depressive symptoms and parent and child anxious symptoms were positively associated. Parental depressive symptoms were not positively associated with child anxious symptoms, and parental anxious symptoms were not positively associated with child depressive symptoms. The findings provide evidence for positive specific links between parent and child development of same-syndrome, but not cross-syndrome, symptoms when a caregiver has a history of depression

Randomized controlled trial of a family cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention for children of depressed parents.

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

Structure and Measurement of Depression in Youth: Applying Item Response Theory to Clinical Data

Goals of the paper were to use item response theory (IRT) to assess the relation of depressive symptoms to the underlying dimension of depression and to demonstrate how IRT-based measurement strategies can yield more reliable data about depression severity than conventional symptom counts. Participants were 3403 clinic and nonclinic children and adolescents from 12 contributing samples, all of whom received the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-aged children. Results revealed that some symptoms reflected higher levels of depression and were more discriminating than others. Results further demonstrated that utilization of IRT-based information about symptom severity and discriminability in the measurement of depression severity can reduce measurement error and increase measurement fidelity

Community Violence and Youth: Affect, Behavior, Substance Use, and Academics

Community violence is recognized as a major public health problem (WHO, World Report on Violence and Health,2002) that Americans increasingly understand has adverse implications beyond inner-cities. However, the majority of research on chronic community violence exposure focuses on ethnic minority, impoverished, and/or crime-ridden communities while treatment and prevention focuses on the perpetrators of the violence, not on the youth who are its direct or indirect victims. School-based treatment and preventive interventions are needed for children at elevated risk for exposure to community violence. In preparation, a longitudinal, community epidemiological study, The Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project, is being fielded to address some of the methodological weaknesses presented in previous studies. This study was designed to better understand the impact of children’s chronic exposure to community violence on their emotional, behavioral, substance use, and academic functioning with an overarching goal to identify malleable risk and protective factors which can be targeted in preventive and intervention programs. This paper describes the MORE Project, its conceptual underpinnings, goals, and methodology, as well as implications for treatment and preventive interventions and future research

Stress During Childhood and Adolescence: Sources of Risk and Vulnerability

review recent studies that have examined psychosocial stress as a source of risk for emotional/behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence / identify sources of individual differences in vulnerability to stress in children and adolescents / address the issues that arise from the use of multiple informants to define and measure emotional/behavioral problems in children and adolescents in stress research first, we define the concepts of risk and vulnerability as they relate to stress and maladjustment in childhood and adolescence / second, we review research concerning stress as a risk factor, emphasizing prospective, longitudinal studies with children and adolescents / in the third section, we discuss some of the factors that have been found to moderate the effects of stress, leading some youths to be vulnerable and others to be resistant to the effects of stress / fourth, we discuss the different findings that have been obtained when children\u27s and adolescents\u27 self-reports . . . have been used to assess the criterion variable of emotional/behavioral problems / finally directions for future research in this area are outline

Introduction to clinical psychology : science and practice

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Perspectives on Child Behavior Problems: Comparisons of Children\u27s Self-Reports with Parent and Teacher Reports

Associations among parents\u27, teachers\u27, and children\u27s self-reports of internalizing and externalizing child behavior problems were examined in two studies. In the first, both teachers\u27 and parents\u27 reports were modestly and independently associated with children\u27s self-reported behavior problems. In the second, mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 reports of their children\u27s behavior problems were moderately associated with parents\u27 self-reports of their own psychological symptoms as well as with their children\u27s self-reports of their behavior problems. Implications of these studies for the use of multiple perspectives in the assessment of children\u27s behavior problems are discussed