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Child / Adolescent - Depression

Family conflict and youth depression: considering bidirectional influences across early adolescence using integrative data analysis (IDA)

(PS3-B35) Family Conflict and Youth Depression: Considering Bidirectional Influences Across Early Adolescence Using Integrative Data Analysis (IDA)

Friday, November 18, 2022

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

Samuel B. Seidman, M.A.

Doctoral Candidate
Case Western Reserve University
Lakewood, Ohio

Co-Author(s)

RM

Rachel N. McClaine, B.A.

Graduate Student
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
AC

Arin Connell, Ph.D.

Professor
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio

Depression in adolescence is a growing public health concern associated with a host of immediate and long-term ill effects including heightened risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, greater risk for lifetime re-occurrence of depression, and significant impairment in social and academic functioning. Prevalence rates of depression in adolescence also differ starkly by gender, with adolescent girls showing considerably higher rates of depression compared with their male peers. Understanding mechanisms of risk for depression in adolescence and across genders is essential for understanding depression etiology and course more broadly. One important set of mechanisms is the influence of parenting and family environment. For example, the households of depressed youth have notably higher levels of hostility and parent-child conflict. Indeed, family conflict has been demonstrated to be an important moderator of treatment effects for depressed youth. An emerging literature suggests targeting family conflict may reduce rates of youth depression. However, the directional relationship between family conflict and depression is not well understood. The present study examines changes in youth depression and family conflict across adolescence, and whether such pathways may differ for males and females. We also utilized Integrative Data Analysis (IDA), a novel data analytic technique allowing for the estimation of latent factors across separate studies and forms of measurement. The present study consists of a sample of families (N=2322) from multiple, separate studies recruited across the United States and utilizes several standardized measures of depression and family conflict. Analyses were conducted in Mplus and used a cross-lagged panel model, which preliminary results suggest is a good fit for the data. Results supported a bidirectional influence between level of family conflict and depression with each co-predicting the other across follow-ups. For example, age 11 youth depression predicts increases in family conflict at age 12 which predicts increased youth depression at age 13. Finally, differences were observed for boys and girls, with adolescent girls showing somewhat more stable pathways from early to late waves and with slightly higher mean effects across time points. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering family effects both as a mechanism and outcome of youth depression onset.