Parental depression and interparental conflict: Children and adolescents’ self-blame and coping responses.

Abstract

The present study examined the role of children and adolescents’ perceptions of self-blame specific to interparental conflict and children and adolescents’ coping behaviors in the context of parental depression as predictors of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 108 youth (age 9–15 years old) of parents with a history of depression. Higher levels of current depressive symptoms in parents were associated with higher levels of interparental conflict and higher levels of internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents, and interparental conflict was positively associated with both internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children/adolescents. Consistent across a series of multiple regression models, children and adolescents’ perceptions of self-blame and use of secondary control coping (acceptance, distraction, cognitive restructuring, positive thinking) were significant, independent predictors of both internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Exploring the associations between coping patterns for everyday stressors and mental health in young schoolchildren

“…This coping pattern included both active and emotion-focused coping strategies, and thereby differs from previous findings. The overall pattern in previous research is that problem-focused coping is usually related to better mental health, whereas emotion-focused coping is associated with increased problems (Fear et al, 2009;Frydenberg & Lewis, 2009;Penley, Tomaka, and Wiebe, 2002;Valiente et al, 2009). In addition to situational and sample dissimilarities, different distinctions of coping strategies in previous research might have influenced these discrepancies.…”

Longitudinal Relations between Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Youth: Coping as a Mediator

“…Offspring of depressed parents are at heightened risk for developing psychopathology as compared to children of non-depressed parents (Beardslee, Gladstone, & O’Connor, 2011; Hammen & Brennan, 2003). Other investigations of offspring of depressed parents have found that secondary control coping partially mediated the relation between the specific stressor of parental depression and children’s depressive symptoms (Fear et al, 2009; Jaser et al, 2005; Langrock et al, 2002). Thus, offspring of depressed parents are not only exposed to high levels of adverse life events, but they also tend to lack skills for coping with these stressors.…”

“…Although evidence exists of significant links between stress and coping, and between coping and psychopathology, most of these findings have come from cross-sectional studies (e.g., Fear et al, 2009; Jaser et al, 2005, 2007; Langrock et al, 2002; Wadsworth & Berger, 2006; Wadsworth, Raviv, Compas, & Connor-Smith, 2005). Few investigations have tested a mediation model in which the relation between stress and depression in children is accounted for by coping, using a prospective design across multiple time points.…”

The impact of accommodative coping on well-being in childhood and adolescence

“…Most of the studies reveal a direct relationship between accommodative coping resources (or related strategies) and health outcomes, expressed by negative correlations between accommodative coping and internalizing, externalizing and somatic symptoms, or emotional and behavioural problems (Connor-Smith, Compas, Wadsworth, Thomsen, & Saltzman, 2000;Fear et al, 2009;Garnefski, Kraaij, & Spinhoven, 2001;Garnefski et al, 2007;Hampel & Petermann, 2006;Hsieh & Stright, 2012;A. H. Thomsen et al, 2002;Turner-Sack, Menna, & Setchell, 2012).…”