Parental involvement in adolescent depression interventions: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials

Abstract

Despite the widespread research recommendations for psychiatric nurses and other mental health professionals to include parents in adolescent depression treatment, no systematic reviews have yet synthesized the findings from intervention studies that included parents in the treatment and/or prevention of adolescent depression. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to (i) identify and describe clinical trials that included parents as an integral component of adolescent depression interventions, (ii) examine the effectiveness of these trials in reducing depressive symptoms, and (iii) evaluate their methodological quality. We systematically searched the databases PubMed and PsycINFO. The search strategy adhered to the PRISMA statement to guide identification and selection of articles. Further, a structured evaluation form was adapted from the CONSORT statement and methodological literature to evaluate the elicited clinical trials. A total of 288 unique articles met criteria for abstract level screening, 45 articles were selected for full-text review, and 16 articles were included in the final analysis. We found that (i) available approaches to include parents in adolescent depression interventions vary in their theoretical stance, purpose, sample characteristics, and measured outcomes, (ii) the health outcomes of these approaches seemed to be contingent upon the nature of parental involvement, and (iii) effective translation of these approaches into practice needs to be considered in the light of their methodological rigour. Our review revealed a variety of promising approaches to utilize the parental and family contexts as a means of preventing or treating adolescent depression. However, more research is needed to determine which interventions, within what contexts, and using what resources will facilitate the best health outcomes for adolescents with depression and their parents.

Violence exposure, conflict, and health outcomes in inner‐city African American adolescents

“…In addition, both positive and negative copings were associated with fewer psychosocial disorders. One explanation is that lower frequency of negative thoughts instead of a greater number of positive ones is adaptive …”

“…One explanation is that lower frequency of negative thoughts instead of a greater number of positive ones is adaptive. [13][14][15]…”

“…Community, school, and family violence each contribute differently to health status in adolescents. Parent‐adolescent relationships are an important source of influence on adolescent health (eg, less depressive symptoms) and psychological adjustment . Adverse childhood events (ACEs), including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect and dysfunction of the home, are associated with the emergence of psychiatric symptoms that continue throughout the lifespan .…”

“…Parent-adolescent relationships are an important source of influence on adolescent health (eg, less depressive symptoms) and psychological adjustment. [13][14][15] Adverse childhood events (ACEs), including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect and dysfunction of the home, are associated with the emergence of psychiatric symptoms that continue throughout the lifespan. 16,17 ACEs predicted worsening of depressive and anxiety symptoms throughout a semester in 239 college students.…”

Family functioning moderates the impact of depression treatment on adolescents’ suicidal ideations

“…The challenge remains though in that individual treatment models presuppose the willingness of a depressed adolescent to recognize problems, engage with services and comply with the treatment, which is often not the case. Thus, researchers are increasingly recommending the development of adolescent depression prevention and early intervention programs that involve creating a supportive family engagement and monitoring (Carr, 2018;Cassels et al, 2018;Dardas, van de Water, & Simmons, 2018;Diamond & Josephson, 2005;Diamond et al, 2010;Ewing, Diamond, & Levy, 2015;Lewis et al, 2013;Poole et al, 2018;Yuen, Fuligni, Gonzales, & Telzer, 2018).…”