Mary Jane Merchant

Coping With the Stress of Parental Depression: Parents' Reports of Children's Coping, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems

Examined childrens coping and involuntary responses to the stress of living with a depressed parent in relation to their symptoms of anxiety/depression and aggression. Sixty-six clinically depressed adults rated their childrens (ages 7 to 17 years old; N = 101) coping and involuntary responses to parental stressors and anxiety/depressive and aggressive behavior symptoms. Based on parent report, children of depressed parents had high rates of symptoms of anxiety/depression and aggression, were exposed to moderate levels of parental stressors (parental intrusiveness, parental withdrawal), and responded to the stress of living with a depressed parent in ways that were associated with symptoms of psychopathology. Childrens use of secondary control coping (e.g., positive thinking, acceptance, distraction) was associated with fewer anxiety/depression and aggression symptoms. In contrast, involuntary engagement responses (e.g., rumination, intrusive thoughts) were associated with more anxiety/depression and aggression symptoms. Path analyses revealed that a model in which secondary control coping and involuntary engagement stress responses mediated the relation between family stressors and child symptoms provided the best fit with the data. Implications of these findings for developing interventions for children to reduce the risk of psychopathology are discussed.

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.

The Relation of Harsh and Permissive Discipline with Child Disruptive Behaviors: Does Child Gender Make a Difference in an At-Risk Sample?

The role of parenting in child disruptive behaviors has received substantial support; however, the findings as to differential effects of specific parenting behaviors (e.g., discipline) on boys’ and girls’ disruptive behavior problems have not been consistent. The current study examined the individual, unique, and interactive relation of two types of ineffective discipline (i.e., harsh & permissive) with child disruptive behavior for at-risk boys and girls separately. Participants were 160 parents with 3- to 6-year-old at-risk children (47.5% girls). Findings revealed that higher levels of harsh discipline were related to more intense disruptive behavior of both boys and girls, whereas higher levels of permissive discipline were related to more intense disruptive behavior of only boys. Additionally, results indicated that harsh and permissive discipline did not interact to predict child disruptive behavior problems. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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.

An Examination of a Group Curriculum for Parents of Young Children With Disruptive Behavior

This study examined effectiveness of a Group Curriculum (GC) for parents of 3- to 6- year-old children with disruptive behavior. The curriculum is based on the book Parenting the Strong-Willed Child. A total of 39 parents were randomly assigned to the GC condition or a wait-list control condition. Assessments occurred at baseline, postintervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 2-month follow-up. Findings indicated that the GC condition was associated with lower levels of child problem behavior and improved parenting at postintervention relative to the control condition. Parents were also satisfied with the intervention. Uncontrolled 2-month follow-up data suggested that changes were maintained from postintervention to follow-up for all outcome measures.

Predictors of outcome of a parenting group curriculum: a pilot study.

One pressing issue facing parenting interventions for disruptive behaviors of young children is forecasting who will benefit from participation. The purpose of this study was to examine four personal and interpersonal predictors (i.e., parent depressive symptoms, parent education, coparent conflict, and marital status) of engagement (i.e., number of sessions attended) in and child outcome (i.e., problematic behavior) of a parenting group curriculum program targeting young children’s disruptive behaviors. Participants were 39 parents (34 mothers and 5 fathers; M = 38.6 years) who expressed an interest in improving the behavior of their 3- to 6-year-old child (19 females and 20 males; M = 4.50 years). Findings indicated that one baseline personal variable, parent depressive symptoms, predicted change in child disruptive behavior at follow-up, and two baseline interpersonal variables, marital status and coparent conflict, predicted engagement in treatment (i.e., number of sessions attended). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.