Abstract
We examined the associations between parent and child anxious and depressive symptoms controlling for co-occurring symptoms in both. One hundred and four families participated, including 131 9–15 year old children considered at risk for anxiety and/or depression due to a history of depression in a parent. Parents and children completed questionnaires assessing depressive and anxious symptoms. Linear Mixed Models analyses controlling for the alternate parent and child symptoms indicated that both parent and child depressive symptoms and parent and child anxious symptoms were positively associated. Parental depressive symptoms were not positively associated with child anxious symptoms, and parental anxious symptoms were not positively associated with child depressive symptoms. The findings provide evidence for positive specific links between parent and child development of same-syndrome, but not cross-syndrome, symptoms when a caregiver has a history of depression.
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This research was supported by grants R01MH069940 and R01MH069928 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
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Colletti, C.J.M., Forehand, R., Garai, E. et al. Associations of Parent–Child Anxious and Depressive Symptoms When a Caregiver Has a History of Depression. J Child Fam Stud 19, 762–770 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9367-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9367-6