Transactional patterns of depressive symptoms between mothers and adolescents: The role of emotion regulation

Research Review: Child emotion regulation mediates the association between family factors and internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents - a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Parental influence on children's internalizing symptoms has been well established; however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. One possible mechanism is child emotion regulation given evidence (a) of its associations with internalizing symptoms and (b) that the development of emotion regulation during childhood and adolescence is influenced by aspects of the family environment. This meta-analysis aimed to systematically investigate the mediating role of child emotion regulation in the relationship between various family factors and internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents.

METHODS

We searched Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, and Web of Science for English articles up until November 2022. We included studies that examined child emotion regulation as a mediator between a family factor and child/adolescent internalizing symptoms. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled indirect effects and total effects for nine family factors. Heterogeneity and mediation ratio were also calculated.

RESULTS

Of 49 studies with 24,524 participants in this meta-analysis, family factors for which emotion regulation mediated the association with child/adolescent internalizing symptoms included: unsupportive emotion socialization, psychological control, secure attachment, aversiveness, family conflict, parent emotion regulation and parent psychopathology, but not supportive emotion socialization and behavioral control.

CONCLUSIONS

Various family factors impact children's emotion regulation development, and in turn, contribute to the risk of internalizing symptoms in young people. Findings from this study highlight the need for interventions targeting modifiable parenting behaviors to promote healthy emotion regulation and better mental health in children and adolescents.

Reciprocal associations between parental depression and child cognition: Pathways to children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms

Parental depression is a risk factor for children's cognitive and psychological development. Literature has found reciprocal relations between parental depression and child psychopathology and effects of parental depression on children's cognition. The present study is the first to examine reciprocity among parental depression and child cognition, and pathways to child psychopathology. Structural equation models were conducted using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a nationally representative sample of 3,001 economically marginalized families. Measures were collected in four waves from 14 months to 10-11 years. Reciprocal associations emerged between maternal and paternal depression at from 14 months to 5 years. Reciprocal parental depression was associated with greater psychopathology at age 10-11. Maternal depression predicted poorer child cognition, which indirectly predicted increased depression in mothers of children aged 3-5 through paternal depression, and in fathers at age 3, through earlier paternal depression. This study was unable to parse within- and between-person effects. Additionally, data for paternal depression was limited to ages 2 and 3. Findings emphasize the transactional nature of child cognition and child and parent psychopathology, supporting family focused intervention and prevention efforts that target parent psychopathology and child cognition.

Association of maternal mental health and drinking/smoking with adolescents' mental health based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Introduction

Depression is one of the major concerns in adolescence, with a global prevalence of approximately 5%. Diverse environmental factors can affect the development of depression depending on the individual developmental stage.

Methods

Using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), we aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic factors and mental health in a population of non-clinically ill adolescents in Korea totaling 6,261 adolescents aged 12-18 years.

Results

Drinking, smoking, stress, depressed mood, suicidal ideation in adolescents, and stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation in mothers were identified as factors associated with adolescent depression. In addition to depressed mood and suicidal ideation, the higher perception of stress in mothers was related to higher stress perception, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation in adolescents. The association of adolescents' mental health with fathers' mental health was weaker than that with mothers' mental health. Additionally, increased smoking and drinking were commonly reported in adolescents with higher stress perception, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation.

Discussion

We conclude that close monitoring of mental health is required for adolescents with drinking and smoking habits and mothers with mental health problems.

Co-occurring Stress Trajectories and the Longitudinal Coupling of Internalizing Symptoms in Parent-Adolescent Dyads

Stress is one candidate mechanism posited to contribute to the intergenerational risk of psychopathology. However, the ways in which parent and child stress are related across adolescence, and the role that co-occurring parent and child stress may exert regarding bidirectional risk for internalizing symptoms, are not well understood. Using repeated measures data spanning 3-years, this study investigated (1) the extent to which trajectories of parent and child stress are related during adolescence, and (2) whether co-occurring parent and child stress trajectories mediate prospective, bidirectional associations between parent depression symptoms and child internalizing symptoms (depression, physical and social anxiety). Participants included 618 parent-adolescent dyads (age 8-16; 57% girls; 89% mothers). Parent depressive symptoms and child symptoms of depression, social anxiety, and physical anxiety were assessed via self-report questionnaire at baseline and 36 months later. Parent and child stress were assessed via self-report questionnaire every three months between 3- and 33-months (11 total assessments). Latent growth curve model (LGCM) analysis found that parent and child stress trajectories were positively related across development. Prospective LGCM mediation analysis showed that higher youth stress at 3-months partially mediated prospective relations between parental depressive symptoms at baseline and youth depressive, as well as physical and social anxiety symptoms at 36-months. Parent and child stress reinforce each other across adolescence and may lead to increased risk for psychopathology. Increases in child stress represent an important factor conferring transdiagnostic risk for internalizing among children of depressed parents.

[Association between maternal job burnout and adolescent depression: the chain mediating effect of maternal depression and parenting style]

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association between maternal job burnout and adolescent depression and the mediating effect of maternal depression and parenting style.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted. The cluster random sampling method was used to select 2 572 adolescents from 7 middle schools in Shanghai, China, from April to May, 2021. A survey was performed for these adolescents and their mothers. The research tools included a general information questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, short-form of Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran, and Children's Depression Inventory. A structural equation model was established, and the Bootstrap method was used to investigate the mediating effect.

RESULTS

The detection rate of depressive symptoms was 12.71% (327/2 572) among the adolescents. The scores of maternal job burnout, maternal depression, and negative parenting style were positively correlated with the score of adolescent depression (P<0.05), and the score of positive parenting style was negatively correlated with the score of adolescent depression (P<0.05). Maternal depression and parenting style played a mediating role between maternal job burnout and adolescent depression, including the individual mediating effect of maternal depression, the individual mediating effect of positive parenting style, and the chain mediating effect of maternal depression-negative/positive parenting style.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal job burnout may affect adolescent depression through the mediating effect of depression, parenting style, and depression-parenting style, suggesting that the symptoms of adolescent depression can be reduced by alleviating maternal job burnout, improving maternal depression, increasing positive parenting behaviors, and reducing negative parenting behaviors.