Understanding Mental Health in Childhood

Children of depressed parents have significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression compared to children whose parents are not depressed (England & Sim, 2009). Previous research has shown that secondary control coping ([SCC] efforts to adapt to stress; e.g., acceptance, cognitive reappraisal) decreases anxiety/depression in uncontrollable situations, such as living with a depressed parent (e.g., Weisz et al., 1994; Langrock et al., 2002), while involuntary engagement (IE) in response to stress (e.g., physiological arousal, emotional arousal, intrusive thoughts) has been linked to increased symptoms. However, the effectiveness of employing SCC has not been studied when accounting for individuals’ differing levels of stress reactivity (e.g., high vs. low IE). The current study examines the prospective effects of SCC, IE, and the interaction of SCC and IE in in the context of a family group cognitive–behavioral (FGCB) preventive intervention.

The present sample included 242 children ages 9-15 and their parents (N = 180) with current or past Major Depressive Disorder randomized to a written information (WI) or FGCB intervention condition (90 parents, 121 children per condition). Families in the WI condition received three educational packets on depression over two months. The FGCB intervention is a manualized 12-session program (8 weekly sessions, 4 monthly booster sessions) for four families in each group, which taught parenting skills to parents and SCC skills to children in order to reduce and prevent adjustment problems in youth. Children completed the RSQ (Connor-Smith et al., 2000) to assess SCC, and the YSR (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) to assess anxiety/depression.

Linear regression analyses indicated that IE at baseline predicted increased anxiety/depression in children in the WI condition 2 months later (β = 1.10, p < .01). For children FGCB intervention condition, SCC (β = -1.08, p < .05) was significantly related to decreased symptoms after 2 months. The interaction between involuntary engagement and SCC approached significance (β = .76, p = .06) such that SCC predicted decreased anxiety/depression for children who endorsed low levels of IE, but was not associated with high IE children.  Results suggest that, in the absence of an intervention, IE is related to increased anxiety/depression in children of depressed parents. Conversely, SCC is related to decreased anxiety/depression for children in the preventive intervention, but high levels of involuntary engagement may negate the positive effects of employing SCC strategies.