The Role of Family Routines in the Intergenerational Transmission of Depressive Symptoms between Parents and their Adolescent Children

Abstract

Whereas previous research on environmental factors implicated in the intergenerational transmission of depression has tended to focus on the role of parenting quality (e.g., harshness), the current study sought to assess whether structural aspects of families may contribute to depression-relevant affective and immune processes in youth. Specifically, the present study examined the role of family routines in linking parental depressive symptoms to youth emotion regulation, a depression-relevant marker of low-grade inflammation, and depressive symptoms in youth. 261 parent-adolescent dyads reported on their own depressive symptoms, family routines, and youth’s emotion regulation abilities. In addition, peripheral blood was drawn from youth to assess levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6). Path analyses provided support for a model in which parental depressive symptoms related to fewer family routines, which in turn were associated with higher IL-6 and depressive symptoms in youth as well as marginally associated with worse youth emotion regulation. Moreover, family routines were found to statistically account for part of the association between parent- and youth- depressive symptoms. Together, these results suggest that family routines may represent an additional facet of the family environment that can potentially contribute to the intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms.

The intergenerational continuity of parental conditional regard and its role in mothers’ and adolescents’ contingent self‐esteem and depressive symptoms

“…Albeit very preliminary, our results indicate it may be useful to consider background variables of depressive disorders that are located at the level of the environment (e.g., parenting, family routines; cf. Manczak, Williams, & Chen, ) or the deeper level of motivational regulation (e.g., introjected regulation through CSE; cf. Lovejoy, Graczyk, O'Hare, & Neuman, ).…”

Adapting to the changing needs of adolescents: parenting practices and challenges to sensitive attunement

“…Not surprisingly, these assessments of positive engagement have been implicated in a broad range of positive adolescent outcomes, including adaptive emotion regulation, receptivity to parents, self-worth, and reduced risk for substance abuse and unprotected sexual activity. Parents’ positive engagement may also be communicated to adolescents through structural aspects of family life 23 . Family routines assessed with parent and adolescent reports of family time and predictable schedules buffered the effects of parents’ depression on adolescents’ depression and immune function 23 .…”

“…Parents’ positive engagement may also be communicated to adolescents through structural aspects of family life 23 . Family routines assessed with parent and adolescent reports of family time and predictable schedules buffered the effects of parents’ depression on adolescents’ depression and immune function 23 . Other aspects of family routines, including adolescents’ bedtimes, sleep quality and time in bed 24 , have been associated with positive parent engagement.…”

“…Individual differences in parent personality is another area for continued investigation. Although much has been learned about intergenerational transmission of risk for psychopathology 23 , there is a need to further investigate the degree to which parents’ capacities for empathy, parental mindfulness and capacity for flexible adaption moderate the transmission of risk . Interventions offer an important window into the degree to which parenting practices are amenable to change and the extent to which changing these practices is effective in reducing adolescents’ problem behaviors.…”

Depresión y factores asociados en adolescentes de un colegio de la ciudad de Huánuco, Perú

“…La asociación entre depresión y disfunción familiar en los adolescentes evaluados en el presente estudio ha sido significativa. Manczak 15 realizó un estudio en 261 padres de adolescentes en el cual encontró que ser padre o madre única y una familia disfuncional son factores de riesgo para que el adolescente desarrolle depresión. Laukkanen 16 y Guilé 17 estudiaron el rol que juega la estructura familiar en el desarrollo del tratamiento de adolescentes hospitalizados por depresión concluyendo que un hogar disfuncional es un factor de riesgo para depresión en adolescentes.…”