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Controlled Clinical Trial
. 2011 Jan-Feb;82(1):226-43.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01552.x.

Remission of depression in parents: links to healthy functioning in their children

Judy Garber  1 , Jeff A Ciesla, Elizabeth McCauley, Guy Diamond, Kelly A Schloredt
Affiliations
Controlled Clinical Trial

Remission of depression in parents: links to healthy functioning in their children

Judy Garber et al. Child Dev. 2011 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

This study examined whether improvement in parents' depression was linked with changes in their children's depressive symptoms and functioning. Participants were 223 parents and children ranging in age from 7 to 17 years old (M = 12.13, SD =2.31); 126 parents were in treatment for depression and 97 parents were nondepressed. Children were evaluated 6 times over 2 years. Changes in parents' depressive symptoms predicted changes in children's depressive symptoms over and above the effect of time; children's symptoms significantly predicted parents' symptoms. Trajectories of children's depressive symptoms differed significantly for children of remitted versus nonremitted depressed parents, and these differences were significantly predicted by their parents' level of depression. The relation between parents' and children's depressive symptoms was partially mediated by parental acceptance.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1a. Trajectories of Parents’ Depressive Symptoms on the BDI-II for Nondepressed and Depressed Parents Figure 1b. Trajectories of Children’s Depressive Symptoms on the CDI for Offspring of Nondepressed and Depressed Parents
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2a. Trajectories of Parent’s Depressive Symptoms on the BDI-II for Nondepressed, Remitted, and Nonremitted Depressed Parents Figure 2b. Trajectories of Children’s Depressive Symptoms on the CDI for Offspring of Nondepressed, Remitted, and Nonremitted Depressed Parents
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trajectories of Children’s Report of Parental Acceptance (CRPBI) for Nondepressed, Remitted, and Nonremitted Depressed Parents
Figure 4
Figure 4
Trajectories of Children’s Perceived Academic, Social, Appearance, and Behavioral Competence for Children of Nondepressed, Remitted, and Nonremitted Depressed Parents
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