Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for the development of depression, with evidence that peer and academic difficulties mediate predictions of later depression from ADHD. The present study hypothesized that parent-child relationship difficulties may be an additional potential mediator of this association. Academic, peer, and parent-child functioning were tested as mediators of the association of attention problems and depression in two distinctly different, yet complementary samples. Study 1 was a cross-sectional sample of 230 5–10 year-old children with and without ADHD. Study 2 was a prospective longitudinal sample of 472 youth followed prospectively from birth to age 20 at risk for depression. Despite differences in age, measures, and designs, both studies implicated peer and parent-child problems as unique mediators of depressive symptoms, although academic difficulties did not uniquely mediate the ADHD-depression association. Further, inattention symptoms, but not hyperactivity, predicted depressive symptoms via the disruption of interpersonal functioning. The inclusion of oppositional defiant disorder into models impacted results, and supported its independent role in parent-child problems. Implications include support for interventions that target interpersonal competence, which may effectively reduce the risk of depression among children with ADHD.

Building on interpersonal theories of depression, the current study sought to explore whether early childhood social withdrawal serves as a risk factor for depressive symptoms and diagnoses in young adulthood. The researchers hypothesized that social impairment at age 15 would mediate the association between social withdrawal at age 5 and depression by age 20. This mediational model was tested in a community sample of 702 Australian youth followed from mother’s pregnancy to youth age 20. Structural equation modeling analyses found support for a model in which childhood social withdrawal predicted adolescent social impairment, which, in turn, predicted depression in young adulthood. Additionally, gender was found to moderate the relationship between adolescent social impairment and depression in early adulthood, with females exhibiting a stronger association between social functioning and depression at the symptom and diagnostic level. This study illuminates one potential pathway from early developing social difficulties to later depressive symptoms and disorders.

The purpose of this study was to explore how individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) engage in treatment and define recovery. A mixed methods design was used to triangulate the experience of 20 women with a history of AN. Interview data were analysed thematically to explore frequency of emergent themes and current eating disorder psychopathology was assessed using standardized self-report measures. Participants’ mean age was 29.35 (SD = 12.11). Participants’ scores were indicative of persistent psychopathology. Those with more involvement in treatment choice had better motivation to change and normalized eating. Participants’ definition of recovery mapped on well to current research conceptualizations, though a substantial proportion of the group expressed some ambivalence around the concept. Results are interpreted in the context of self-determination theory of motivation and suggest that patients should be involved collaboratively in the formulation of shared goals and concepts of recovery in treatment settings.

Previous research has demonstrated that the offspring of depressed mothers are at greater risk for negative psychopathological and psychosocial outcomes than children of non-depressed mothers. The current study specifically examines offspring’s romantic relationship quality during the transition to adulthood as a function of maternal depression and three putative mechanisms for this association: youth depression history, mother-child relationship discord, and maternal romantic relationship difficulties. The study further explores the role of these factors in the risk for depressive symptoms during the transition to adulthood. Hypotheses were examined longitudinally in a community sample of 182 Australian youth who were followed from birth to age 20 and were in committed romantic relationships at age 20 with romantic partners willing to provide data regarding romantic relationship satisfaction. Structural equation modeling analyses found support for a direct effect of maternal depression on youth romantic relationship quality with significant mediation by mother-child relationship discord, as well as an association between mother-child relationship discord and later depressive symptoms that is mediated by youth romantic relationship quality. Findings also lend support for an indirect effect from maternal depression to youth depressive symptoms via mother-child relationship discord and youth romantic relationship quality. This study provides further evidence for the negative psychosocial and psychopathological outcomes of children of depressed mothers and the intergenerational transmission of relational difficulties.