We examined parent emotion dysregulation as part of a model of family emotion-related processes and adolescent psychopathology. Participants were 80 parent–adolescent dyads (mean age = 13.6; 79 % African-American and 17 % Caucasian) with diverse family composition and socioeconomic status. Parent and adolescent dyads self-reported on their emotion regulation difficulties and adolescents reported on their perceptions of parent invalidation (i.e., punishment and neglect) of emotions and their own internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results showed that parents who reported higher levels of emotion dysregulation tended to invalidate their adolescent’s emotional expressions more often, which in turn related to higher levels of adolescent emotion dysregulation. Additionally, adolescent-reported emotion dysregulation mediated the relation between parent invalidation of emotions and adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Potential applied implications are discussed.

Objective Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a conjoint parent-child treatment developed by Cohen, Mannarino, and Deblinger that uses cognitive-behavioral principles and exposure techniques to prevent and treat posttraumatic stress, depression, and behavioral problems. This review defined TF-CBT, differentiated it from other models, and assessed the evidence base. Methods Authors reviewed meta-analyses, reviews, and individual studies (1995 to 2013). Databases surveyed were PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, PILOTS, the ERIC, and the CINAHL. They chose from three levels of research evidence (high, moderate, and low) on the basis of benchmarks for number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of effectiveness. Results The level of evidence for TF-CBT was rated as high on the basis of ten RCTs, three of which were conducted independently (not by TF-CBT developers). TF-CBT has demonstrated positive outcomes in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, although it is less clear whether TF-CBT is effective in reducing behavior problems or symptoms of depression. Limitations of the studies include concerns about investigator bias and exclusion of vulnerable populations. Conclusions TF-CBT is a viable treatment for reducing trauma-related symptoms among some children who have experienced trauma and their nonoffending caregivers. Based on this evidence, TF-CBT should be available as a covered service in health plans. Ongoing research is needed to further identify best practices for TF-CBT in various settings and with individuals from various racial and ethnic backgrounds and with varied trauma histories, symptoms, and stages of intellectual, social, and emotional development.

Objective-To examine parental symptoms of depression, family environment, and the interaction of these parent and family factors in explaining severity of distress in children scheduled to undergo stem cell/bone marrow transplantation (SCT).Method-A self-report measure of illness related distress, adjusted to reflect the experience of medical diagnosis and associated stressors was completed by 146 youth scheduled to undergo SCT. Measures of parental depressive symptoms and family environment (cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict) were completed by the resident parent.Results-Parental symptoms of depression, family cohesion, and family expressiveness emerged as significant predictors of child-reported distress. Additionally, significant Parental Depression x Family Cohesion and Parental Depression x Family Expressiveness interactions emerged as predictors of the intensity of the child's distress. When parental depressive symptomatology was high, child distress was high regardless of family environment. However, when parental depressive symptomatology was low, family cohesion and expression served as protective factors against child distress.Conclusion-Parental depressive symptomatology and family functioning relate to child distress in an interactive manner. These findings inform future directions for research, including interventions for parents aimed at promoting child adjustment during the pediatric cancer experience.Keywords childhood cancer; stem cell transplantation; family environment; depression; adjustment Despite much advancement in medical technologies for children undergoing stem cell or bone marrow transplantation (SCT), the experience remains extremely stressful for many patients, parents, and families. 1,2 SCT is an effective but high-risk and demanding procedure used increasingly in the treatment of childhood leukemia, as well as other malignancies and serious childhood illnesses. Although SCT remains a risky procedure with a range of possible physical complications, medical advances have decreased mortality rates for children who undergo the With the number of SCT survivors continuing to increase, research has therefore focused on the psychosocial difficulties for children and their families who are undergoing this stressful procedure. [2][3][4][5] Given that the most common indications for SCT involve leukemia and other malignancies, the literature regarding psychosocial adaptation to childhood cancers in general provides important background for understanding child adaptation to SCT. Childhood cancers and their treatments are not discrete or uniform experiences. The illness involves a series of distinct stressors (e.g., diagnosis, invasive procedures, hospitalizations) for the child and parent that last for many years. The available research suggests that the majority of children surviving cancer transition out of treatment with relative ease and few symptoms of behavioral or emotional distress, 6-10 but a small subset may experience higher levels of distress which can compromise both...

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to investigate ethnic differences in trauma-related mental health symptoms among adolescents, and test the mediating and moderating effects of polyvictimization (i.e., number of types of traumas/victimizations experienced by an individual) and household income, respectively. Methods Data were drawn from the first wave of the National Survey of Adolescents replication study (NSA-R), which took place in the U.S. in 2005 and utilized random digit dialing to administer a telephone survey to adolescents ages 12-17. Participants included in the current analyses were the 3,312 adolescents (50.2% female; Mean age = 14.67 years) from the original sample of 3,614 who identified as non-Hispanic White (n = 2,346, 70.8%), non-Hispanic Black (n = 557, 16.8%), or Hispanic (n = 409, 12.3%). Structural equation modeling was utilized to test hypothesized models. Results Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic participants reported higher levels of polyvictimization and trauma-related mental health symptoms (symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression) compared to non-Hispanic Whites, though the effect sizes were small (γ ≤ .07). Polyvictimization fully accounted for the differences in mental health symptoms between non-Hispanic Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites, and partially accounted for the differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. The relation between polyvictimization and trauma-related mental health symptoms was higher for low-income youth than for high-income youth. Conclusions Disparities in trauma exposure largely accounted for racial/ethnic disparities in trauma-related mental health. Children from low-income family environments appear to be at greater risk of negative mental health outcomes following trauma exposure compared to adolescents from high-income families.

This study examined the contribution of stressful life events (SLEs) in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) stemming from childhood cancer among 121 patients. When controlling for demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status), cancer factors (treatment status, time since diagnosis, and cancer type), and intensity of parental PTSS, history of SLEs in the child’s life emerged as a salient correlate of PTSS across the different measures and reporting methods used in the study. Overall, children who had experienced more frequent and severe life stressors endorsed greater PTSS in relation to the cancer experience. Clinical work and future research on children with cancer should focus accordingly on the potential cumulative impact of SLEs on PTSS.