The 10-item Remembered Relationship with Parents (RRP10) scale: two-factor model and association with adult depressive symptoms

The Development of the Inventory of the Child-Friendly Family

This study developed and validated the Inventory of the Child-friendly Family (ICF) in a Chinese student population. A total of 97 items were generated by focus group interviews involving 30 adolescents. After a review by experts, and focus group interviews with another 20 adolescents, 46 items remained. Those 46 items were tested with a representative sample of 5,841 students in Hong Kong. Participants responded to a questionnaire containing the 46 items. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we generated a 2-factor, 18-item scale. The two factors obtained were labeled "psychological support and positive discipline strategies" and "care and protection." Results from preliminary tests showed that this 2-factor ICF had good internal consistency and validity. The ICF can serve as a protocol to guide actions in developing a child-friendly family.

Alienação parental: elaboração de uma medida para mães

Resumo Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo elaborar o Inventário de Práticas Maternas Alienantes e reunir evidências de sua validade pela estrutura interna. Para isso, foram realizados dois estudos. O estudo 1 contou com a participação de duzentas mães divorciadas de cidades do estado da Paraíba, com idade média de 35 anos (DP = 9,06). Por meio de uma Análise Fatorial Exploratória, visualizou-se uma estrutura unifatorial do inventário, com um índice de consistência interna de 0,83. O estudo 2 contou com 189 mães divorciadas, residentes em municípios paraibanos, com idade média de 37 anos (DP = 10,69). Nesse estudo, uma Análise Fatorial Confirmatória sugeriu uma estrutura unifatorial da medida [χ² = 141,05, χ²/ gL = 4,03, GFI = 0,87, CFI = 0,88, TLI = 0,85, RMSEA (IC90% = 0,10 - 0,14) = 0,12, CAIC = 265,89 e ECVI = 0,96]. Conclui-se que o Inventário em questão é uma medida que apresenta características psicométricas que permitem seu uso com cautela em estudos futuros.

Financial Strain, Major Family Life Events, and Parental Academic Involvement During Adolescence

Parental academic involvement-whether through school participation and communication, or supervision and assistance at home-often has been cited as a way to enhance academic achievement. Yet, little is known about how the financial and life pressures faced by families can compromise parents' ability to become involved in their adolescents' education. In the current study, these dynamics were examined among Mexican-origin families, who often may face challenging financial and familial circumstances, and whose students may have more difficulty in secondary school. Parents of Mexican-origin ninth and tenth grade students from two high schools in Los Angeles (N = 428; 50 % female) completed quantitative interviews. The results revealed that financial strain predicted less involvement at school, and major family life events predicted less involvement at home, even after controlling for potentially confounding factors. Moreover, both of the associations between parental stress and parental academic involvement were mediated by lower levels of relationship quality between parents and adolescents, but not by conflict within the parent-adolescent dyad or parental depressive and somatic symptoms. The findings suggest that stress may limit parents' ability to become involved their adolescents' education, and highlight the importance of understanding family dynamics when examining parental academic involvement among Mexican-origin families.

The distressed (Type D) personality mediates the relationship between remembered parenting and psychological distress in cardiac patients

OBJECTIVE

Both the distressed (Type D) personality (i.e. the combination of negative affectivity and social inhibition traits) and dysfunctional parenting styles are associated with anxiety and depression. As parenting styles have been related to personality development, dysfunctional parenting styles may also be associated with Type D personality. We examined whether remembered parenting was associated with anxiety and depression in cardiac patients and whether Type D personality mediated this relationship.

METHODS

Our sample comprised 435 patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 123 patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Type D Scale (DS14), and Remembered Relationship with Parents (RRP(10)) scale.

RESULTS

Remembered parenting was significantly associated with higher anxiety and depression levels and Type D personality. In multivariable linear regression analyses, Type D personality accounted for 25-29% of the variance in anxiety and 23-46% of the variance in depression, while remembered parenting was no longer significantly associated with these domains. Sobel tests and bootstrapping indicated that Type D personality mediated the relationship between remembered parenting and anxiety and depression.

CONCLUSION

Type D personality mediated the relationship between remembered parenting and anxiety and depression in both PCI and CHF patients.

Dysfunctional remembered parenting in oncology outpatients affects psychological distress symptoms in a gender-specific manner

Evidence suggests that gender differences appear in a variety of biological and psychological responses to stress and perhaps in coping with acute and chronic illness as well. Dysfunctional parenting is also thought to be involved in the process of coping with stress and illness; hence, the present study aimed to verify whether dysfunctional remembered parenting would influence psychological distress in a gender-specific manner in patients suffering from cancer. Patients attending an outpatient oncology clinic completed the Remembered Relationships with Parents (RRP), Hospital Anxiety and Depression and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scales and the National Cancer Center Network Distress Thermometer. Although no baseline gender differences were detected, a multivariate analysis confirmed that anxiety and depression symptoms of men and women suffering from cancer are differentially affected by the RRP Control and Alienation scores. Women with remembered parental alienation and overprotection showed significantly more anxiety symptoms than men, whereas men were more vulnerable to remembered alienation than overprotection with regard to the Distress Thermometer scores. These results suggest that remembered dysfunctional parenting is crucially, and in a gender-specific manner, involved in the coping strategy adopted by male and female cancer patients.

Childhood sexual abuse and the risk for recurrent major depression in Chinese women

BACKGROUND

Studies in Western countries have repeatedly shown that women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at increased risk for developing major depression (MD). Would this relationship be found in China?

METHOD

Three levels of CSA (non-genital, genital, and intercourse) were assessed by self-report in two groups of Han Chinese women: 1970 clinically ascertained with recurrent MD and 2597 matched controls. Diagnostic and other risk factor information was assessed at personal interview. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression and regression coefficients by linear or Poisson regression.

RESULTS

Any form of CSA was significantly associated with recurrent MD [OR 3.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.95-5.45]. This association strengthened with increasing CSA severity: non-genital (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.17-5.23), genital (OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.32-5.83) and intercourse (OR 13.35, 95% CI 1.83-97.42). The association between any form of CSA and MD remained significant after accounting for parental history of depression, childhood emotional neglect (CEN), childhood physical abuse (CPA) and parent-child relationship. Among the depressed women, those with CSA had an earlier age of onset, longer depressive episodes and an increased risk for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.39-2.66) and dysthymia (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.52-3.09).

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese women CSA is strongly associated with MD and this association increases with greater severity of CSA. Depressed women with CSA have an earlier age of onset, longer depressive episodes and increased co-morbidity with GAD and dysthymia. Although reporting biases cannot be ruled out, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that, as in Western countries, CSA substantially increases the risk for MD in China.

Treatment of chronically depressed patients: a multisite randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of 'Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy' (CBASP) for chronic depressions versus usual secondary care

BACKGROUND

'Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy' (CBASP) is a form of psychotherapy specifically developed for patients with chronic depression. In a study in the U.S., remarkable favorable effects of CBASP have been demonstrated. However, no other studies have as yet replicated these findings and CBASP has not been tested outside the United States. This protocol describes a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of CBASP in the Netherlands.

METHODS/DESIGN

The purpose of the present paper is to report the study protocol of a multisite randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of 'Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy' (CBASP) for chronic depression in the Netherlands. In this study, CBASP in combination with medication, will be tested versus usual secondary care in combination with medication. The aim is to recruit 160 patients from three mental health care organizations. Depressive symptoms will be assessed at baseline, after 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 32 weeks and 52 weeks, using the 28-item Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology (IDS). Effect modification by co morbid anxiety, alcohol consumption, general and social functioning and working alliance will be tested. GEE analyses of covariance, controlling for baseline value and center will be used to estimate the overall treatment effectiveness (difference in IDS score) at post-treatment and follow up. The primary analysis will be by 'intention to treat' using double sided tests. An economic analysis will compare the two groups in terms of mean costs and cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective.

DISCUSSION

The study will provide an answer to the question whether the favorable effects of CBASP can be replicated outside the US.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The Dutch Cochrane Center, NTR1090.