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. 2023 Feb 27;11(1):10.
doi: 10.1186/s40345-022-00284-2.

Reduced parenting stress following a prevention program decreases internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder

Tiffany Resendes  1 , Lisa Serravalle  1 , Vanessa Iacono  1 , Mark A Ellenbogen  2
Affiliations

Reduced parenting stress following a prevention program decreases internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder

Tiffany Resendes et al. Int J Bipolar Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (OBD) are at risk for developing mental disorders, and the literature suggests that parenting stress may represent an important risk factor linking parental psychopathology to offspring psychopathology. We aimed to investigate whether improvements in parenting stress mediated the relationship between participation in a prevention program and offspring internalizing and externalizing symptoms at follow-up.

Methods: Families having a parent with BD (N = 25) underwent a 12-week prevention program. Assessments were conducted at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Families of parents with no affective disorders (i.e., control families) served as a comparison sample (N = 28). The Reducing Unwanted Stress in the Home (RUSH) program aimed to teach communication, problem-solving, and organization skills to improve the rearing environment. Measures included the Parenting Stress Index-4th Edition, the Behaviour Assessment Scales for Children-2nd Edition, and the UCLA Life Stress Interview.

Results: Families having a parent with BD reported more parenting stress at pre-intervention, and more change across time, than control families. Improvements in parenting stress mediated the relationship between participation in the intervention and reduced offspring internalizing and externalizing symptoms. While families having a parent with BD reported more chronic interpersonal stress at pre-intervention, no intervention effects were found.

Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that a preventative intervention targeting parenting stress in families may serve to prevent the development of mental disorders in at-risk children.

Keywords: Bipolar disorders; Internalizing and externalizing symptoms; Parenting stress; Preventative intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Note: Included mediators represent scores yielded from the Parenting Stress Index. Participating in the RUSH program is considered equivalent to having a parent with BD or not (OBD vs. control offspring)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Note: The linear effect of time on all four subscales by intervention group. OBD offspring of parents with bipolar disorder
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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