Emily Garai

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.

An Examination of Parenting the Strong-Willed Child as Bibliotherapy for Parents

This study examined the Parenting the Strong-Willed Child (PSWC) book as a self-directed program for parents of 3- to 6-year-olds. Fifty-two parents were randomly assigned to PSWC or a comparison book, Touchpoints: Three to Six. Assessments occurred at baseline, postintervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 2-month follow-up. The findings indicated both books, but particularly PSWC, were associated with lower levels of child problem behavior after intervention. PSWC was associated with greater decreases in child problem behaviors on certain measures when amount of reading completed was taken into account. Parents reading PSWC reported that they were satisfied with the book and found the book useful and easy to implement. The findings are discussed in the contexts of both the percentage of parents who read the PSWC book and the cost-effectiveness of a self-directed intervention.

The Relation of Maternal Sensitivity to Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Within the Context of Maternal Depressive Symptoms

Maternal depression has been linked to deficits in parenting that contribute to youth’s development of externalizing and/or internalizing problems. Maternal sensitivity has been implicated within the infant literature as a foundational aspect of parenting contributing to a child’s adjustment. This study examines the main and moderating effects of a construct labeled maternal sensitivity, within the context of depressive symptoms, on youth externalizing and internalizing problems in a sample of 65 mothers with a history of depression and their 84 children ages 9-15 years. Sensitivity was related to child externalizing problems. Although two-way interactions were not significant, exploratory moderation analyses indicated a significant three-way interaction among maternal depressive symptoms, maternal sensitivity, and youth gender for internalizing problems: among girls only, high depressive symptoms, low sensitivity, and the combination of these two variables were each associated with high levels of internalizing problems.

Efficacy and moderators of a family group cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention for children of parents with depression.

OBJECTIVE Building on an earlier study (Compas, Forehand, Thigpen, et al., 2011), tests of main effects and potential moderators of a family group cognitive-behavioral (FGCB) preventive intervention for children of parents with a history of depression are reported. METHOD Assessed a sample of 180 families (242 children ages 9-15 years) in a randomized controlled trial assessed at 2, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after baseline. RESULTS Significant effects favoring the FGCB intervention over a written information comparison condition were found on measures of childrens symptoms of depression, mixed anxiety/depression, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems, with multiple effects maintained at 18 and 24 months, and on incidence of child episodes of major depressive disorder over the 24 months. Effects were stronger for child self-reports than for parent reports. Minimal evidence was found for child age, child gender, parental education, parental depressive symptoms, or presence of a current parental depressive episode at baseline as moderators of the FGCB intervention. CONCLUSIONS The findings provide support for sustained and robust effects of this preventive intervention.

Predictors of Coparenting Relationship Quality in African American Single Mother Families: An Ecological Model.

Nonmarital coparents, or adults who assist mothers with childrearing, play a significant role in the lives of African American single mothers and their children. Yet relatively little research has examined correlates of the quality of the coparenting relationship in these families. Using a broad ecological framework, the current study examined correlates of maternal-report of coparenting relationship quality in a sample of 242 low-income African American single mother families in the southeastern United States. Cross-sectionally, at each of two time points, neighborhoods characterized by lower levels of risk, higher levels of lax maternal parenting, and higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms were associated with a more compromised coparenting relationship.These findings were partially replicated in longitudinal analyses predicting coparenting relationship quality at Assessment 2 from Assessment 1 variables. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.