Our plan in the proposed investigation is to examine the association between adolescent depression and the nature of family relationships and interactional processes. The ultimate goal of the research is to arrive at a theoretically coherent, empirically sound model of the relations between family process variables and adolescent depression. To this end, we will first examine three current models of the etiology of depression (stress/support; social interactional; cognitive) through which family relations and interactions may place adolescents at risk. Building upon these findings, we will attempt to develop a model integrating the mechanisms found to be significant in the individual models. In addition, the proposed study will extend existing research in a number of ways. First, we will examine the relationship between family processes and depression in an adolescent sample. Despite the greater prevalence of depressive disorders in adolescence, most of the available research has targeted preadolescent children. Second, we will correct for methodological weaknesses that constrain the interpretability of extant research findings and thus limit their usefulness in the development of clinical applications; these include (a) over reliance on self-report instruments, (b) under sampling of youth with depressive disorders, and (c) relative inattention to the role of fathers. Finally, we will examine a number of key variables that may moderate the relations between family processes and adolescent depression; these include characteristics of the adolescent (e.g., age/gender), the disorder (e.g., severity, comorbidity),and the family context (e.g., parental psychopathology; marital discord). Three groups of adolescents and their parents will be assessed:1) adolescents who meet DSM criteria for unipolar affective disorder (Depressed): 2) adolescents with elevated depressive symptomatology who do not meet diagnostic criteria (Subdiagnostic); and 3) adolescents who do not evidence depressive symptomatology or meet diagnostic criteria for any Axis 1 disorder (Healthy).
| Ehrmantrout, Nikki; Allen, Nicholas B; Leve, Craig et al. (2011) Adolescent recognition of parental affect: influence of depressive symptoms. J Abnorm Psychol 120:628-34 |
| Sheeber, Lisa B; Johnston, Charlotte; Chen, Mandy et al. (2009) Mothers' and fathers' attributions for adolescent behavior: an examination in families of depressed, subdiagnostic, and nondepressed youth. J Fam Psychol 23:871-81 |
| Chen, Mandy; Johnston, Charlotte; Sheeber, Lisa et al. (2009) Parent and adolescent depressive symptoms: the role of parental attributions. J Abnorm Child Psychol 37:119-30 |
| Sheeber, Lisa B; Davis, Betsy; Leve, Craig et al. (2007) Adolescents'relationships with their mothers and fathers: associations with depressive disorder and subdiagnostic symptomatology. J Abnorm Psychol 116:144-54 |
| Sheeber, L; Hops, H; Davis, B (2001) Family processes in adolescent depression. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 4:19-35 |
