Given the prevalence of adolescent depression, its prevention has become an important area of clinical research. While prevention programs such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy – Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) have demonstrated effectiveness, little research to date has studied the impact of maternal depression on adolescent outcomes in these programs. The current study investigated the relationship between maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms across two adolescent depression prevention programs (IPT-AST and group counseling (GC)) in three ways. The study first examined the relationship between initial levels of adolescent and maternal depressive symptoms in this sample. The study then examined whether initial levels of maternal depressive symptoms moderated or predicted adolescent outcomes through the active interventions and across a two-year follow-up period. Lastly, the study investigated whether maternal depressive symptoms improved, and whether maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms changed concurrently across the two-year period. Participants were 167 mother-adolescent dyads who enrolled in a depression prevention study, the Depression Prevention Initiative (DPI). Results indicated that initial levels of maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms were positively associated. Maternal depressive symptoms did not moderate or predict outcomes through the active intervention, though we found a marginal prediction effect through the follow-up period. Lastly, results indicated that maternal depressive symptoms improved across the two-year period, and maternal and adolescent depressive symptom outcomes were related across time: as adolescents improved in our study, their mothers also experienced improvements in depressive symptoms. These findings extend the current understanding of the impact of maternal depressive symptoms on adolescent depressive symptom outcomes, and have important implications for understanding the effects of adolescent depression prevention programs.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Psychology
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Depression in adolescence
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Preventive mental health services for teenagers
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_9059
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (60 pages : illustrations)
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Carolyn N. Spiro
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
School of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10001600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.