Recent Undesirable Life Events and Psychiatric Disorder in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

A sample of children and adolescents (n = 157) attending a child psychiatry outpatient clinic with conduct or emotional disturbance were compared with community controls (n = 76) for the number and type of recent life events. A Life Events Schedule for children and adolescents was developed and used as a semi-structured interview. Four clinical groups were identified according to their predominant presenting symptoms (conduct, mild mood, severe mood, or somatic). An excess of events carrying a severe degree of negative impact was found for all four groups, compared with matched controls. Eleven classes of events were examined: there is a suggestion that two classes (martial/family, accident/illness) may be more important for conduct and mild mood disorders, and that a further class (permanent separations, termed exits) may be more important for somatic and severe mood disorders.

Undesirable life-events and depression in young adolescents

“…This study supports previous findings that undesirable life-events are more frequently reported by depressed than non-depressed individuals (de Wilde et al, 1992;Garrison et al, 1990;Goodyer et al, 1985;Shrout et al, 1989). Significantly more of the depressed than non-depressed students reported their parent's divorce, the start of problems between their parents, having problems with their parents, parental job loss, failing a grade, school suspension and the death of a close friend.…”

“…Students diagnosed with major depressive disorder reported a significantly greater number of undesirable life-events than other students interviewed. Similarly, in a clinical sample, Goodyer et al (1985) found children and adolescents with conduct disorders or emotional disturbances attending out-patient psychiatric clinics experienced a greater number of negative events than matched community controls.…”

“…Both clinical (Goodyer, Kolvin, & Gatzanis, 1985;Goodyer & Altham, 1991;Jensen, Richter, Ussery, Bloedau & Davis, 1991) and community studies (Garrison, Jackson, Marsteller, McKeown & Addy, 1990;Garrison, Addy, Jackson, McKeown, & Waller, 1992) have found a relationship between adolescent depression and undesirable life-events. Most researchers have investigated the association between depression and the total number of undesirable life-events reported within the past 12 to 24 months, yet few have investigated the impact of specific events.…”

Structure and stability of maternal support among pregnant and parenting adolescents

“…The tradition of Hans Seyle's (1956) general adaptation syndrome and its evolution into the stressful life events work of Holmes and Rahe (1967) suggests that change per se, rather than the negative or positive quality of the change, accounts for the stressful nature of life events. Other literature indicates that specific life event-symptom relations may exist (e.g., separation events are often linked to depression -Goodyer, Kolvin, & Gatzanis, 1985;Paykel, 1979;Sandler, Reynolds, Kliewer, & Ramirez, 1992). The literature examining stress and hassles suggests that negative life events, rather than positive ones, are related to poor adjustment (Mueller, Edwards, & Yarvis, 1977;Vinokur & Selzer, 1975).…”

Depressive Symptoms Among Delinquent Youth: Testing Models of Association with Stress and Support

“…The relationship between depression and stressful life events has consistently been modest but significant in samples of children and adolescents (Garber & Hilsman, 1992;McFarlane, Bellissimo, & Norman, 1995;Olsson, Nordstrom, Arinell, & von Knorring, 1999;Williamson, Birmaher, Anderson, Al-Shabbout, & Ryan, 1995). Longitudinal studies show that in the 12 months prior to the onset of their depression, depressed youth report more stressful life events, particularly in the areas of romantic relationships, education, relationships with friends or parents, and health (Goodyer, Kolvin, & Gatzanis, 1985;Goodyer, Wright, & Altham, 1988). Likewise, evidence that low levels of parental warmth, support, and low family cohesion are associated with depressive features in adolescence has been generated by many studies (Kobak, Sudler, & Gamble, 1991;Papini, Roggman, & Anderson, 1991;Patten et al, 1997).…”