Pathway to Expectations of Child Functioning Following Sexual Abuse: Caregiver Maltreatment History and Depressive Symptoms

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110435
Author(s):  
Akemi E. Mii ◽  
Kelsey McCoy ◽  
Hannah M. Coffey ◽  
Mary Fran Flood ◽  
and David J. Hansen

Caregiver responses and behaviors often play a significant role in a child’s recovery following child sexual abuse (CSA). Caregiver expectations of their child’s postabuse functioning has been associated with child symptoms, such that negative expectations lead to worse outcomes for the child. Additionally, caregivers who experienced maltreatment in their own childhood may face difficulties providing support to their child after CSA. Caregivers’ own psychological symptoms may influence their expectations for their child’s future functioning following CSA. This study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the association between caregivers’ childhood maltreatment histories, their expectations for their child’s future functioning following CSA, and the indirect effect of caregiver depressive symptoms on this relationship. Participants were 354 nonoffending caregivers presenting to treatment with their child following CSA disclosure. Caregivers were 23-72 years old ( M = 38.38, SD = 8.02), predominately white, and predominately biological mothers to the youth who were abused. Results indicated that caregivers who experienced maltreatment in childhood were more likely to experience depressive symptoms, which then lead to more negative expectations of their child’s future functioning. As negative expectations are associated with poorer outcomes for children following CSA, increased attention to caregivers’ depressive symptoms in treatment may promote more positive expectations for their child’s postabuse functioning.

2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith S. Brook ◽  
Jung Yeon Lee ◽  
David W. Brook ◽  
Stephen J. Finch

This study examined the relation of cigarette smoking, psychological symptoms (e.g., depressive symptoms, anxiety), physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) separately by sex. The sample consisted of 815 African Americans and Puerto Ricans (324 males, 491 females). The participants were originally 14 years of age, and were followed to 32 years of age, and gave information on smoking, depressive symptoms, anxiety, physical activity, and BMI. Structural equation modeling showed that for males cigarette smoking in mid/late adolescence was related to cigarette smoking in emerging adulthood and early adulthood. Finally, cigarette smoking in early adulthood was negatively related to BMI in adulthood only for male participants. For female participants, cigarette smoking in adolescence was related to psychological symptoms (e.g., depressive symptoms, anxiety) in emerging adulthood and early adulthood. Psychological symptoms in early adulthood predicted less physical activity in adulthood, which in turn, was related to BMI. With one exception, all of the standardized coefficients were statistically significant. Implications for preventive interventions are discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1213-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. Kendler ◽  
S. H. Aggen

BackgroundChildhood sexual abuse (CSA) is strongly associated with risk for major depression (MD) but the degree to which this association is causal remains uncertain.MethodWe applied structural equation modeling using the Mplus program to 1493 longitudinally assessed female twins from the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders.ResultsOur model included (i) retrospective self- and co-twin reports on CSA, (ii) major potentially confounding covariates, (iii) assessment of lifetime history of MD at two separate interviews, and (iv) mood-congruent recall (implemented by allowing current depressive symptoms to predict reporting of CSA). In a model with only measurement error, CSA explained 9.6% of MD. Including four key covariates reduced the variance explained to 5.3%, with the largest effects found for parental loss and low parental warmth. Adding the effect of mood-congruent recall to a final well-fitting model reduced the percentage of variance explained in lifetime MD (LTMD) by CSA to 4.4%. In this model, current depressive symptoms significantly predicted recall of CSA.ConclusionsIn a model correcting for measurement error, confounding and the impact of mood-congruent recall, CSA remains substantially associated with the risk for LTMD in women. These findings strongly suggest, but do not prove, that this association is causal, and are consistent with previous results in this sample using a co-twin control design, but also indicate that more than half of the uncorrected CSA–MD association is probably not causal. Traumatic life experiences contribute substantially to the risk for LTMD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany K. Taylor ◽  
Michaela R. Frenzel ◽  
Hallie J. Johnson ◽  
Madelyn P. Willett ◽  
Stuart F. White ◽  
...  

Working parents in are struggling to balance the demands of their occupation with those of childcare and homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, studies show that women are shouldering more of the burden and reporting greater levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression relative to men. However, research has yet to show that increases in psychological symptoms are linked to changes in stress during the pandemic. Herein, we conduct a small-N study to explore the associations between stress and psychological symptoms during the pandemic among mothers using structural equation modeling, namely latent change score models. Thirty-three mothers completed questionnaires reporting current anxious and depressive symptoms (Beck Anxiety and Depression Index, respectively), as well as stressful life experiences prior to-versus during the pandemic (Social Readjustment Rating Scale). Women endorsed significantly more stressful events during the pandemic, relative to the pre-pandemic period. Additionally, 58% of mothers scored as moderate-to-high risk for developing a stress-related physical illness in the near future because of their pandemic-level stress. Depressive symptoms were associated with the degree of change in life stress, whereas anxiety symptoms were more related to pre-pandemic levels of stress. The present study preliminarily sheds light on the nuanced antecedents to mothers’ experiences of anxious and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although further work is needed in larger, more diverse samples of mothers, this study highlights the potential need for appropriate policies, and prevention and intervention programs to ameliorate the effects of pandemics on mothers’ mental health.


Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112199876
Author(s):  
Arpita Ghosh ◽  
Christopher R. Niileksela ◽  
Rebecca Janis

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial invariance of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms–62 (CCAPS-62) across military background and gender identity. A sample of 2,208 military students and 2,208 nonmilitary students were chosen from a large database of university and college counseling centers. Using exploratory structural equation modeling, findings suggested the CCAPS-62 is mostly invariant across military background and gender identity. Only three item thresholds appeared to be noninvariant across groups. These results suggest comparisons of scores across military background and gender can be made. Latent mean differences across groups were also examined. After controlling for several background variables, there were some differences between males and females on subscales measuring depression, eating concerns, and generalized anxiety, but no differences between military and nonmilitary students. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110006
Author(s):  
Kelly Ka Lai Lam ◽  
Wei-Wen Chen

In this study, we investigated the relations between family interaction, gratitude, and depressive symptoms among Chinese emerging adults. It also investigated gratitude as a mediator in the relation between family interaction and depression. Data were obtained from 321 college students who completed the online questionnaire about the Family Assessment Instrument, Gratitude Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire, and demographic information. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses and bootstrapping with 5,000 resamplings (95% confidence interval) was used to confirm the mediation model. Results showed that gratitude partially mediated the relation between family interaction and depression. In other words, students with healthy family interaction, as indicated by perceived better family communication, mutuality, and harmony with family members, tended to report higher general gratitude, and subsequently diminished depressive symptoms. The practical implications were discussed.


2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Muehlenkamp ◽  
Renee N. Saris-Baglama

The objectification of women by our society can become internalized by women, resulting in negative psychological outcomes. Using Fredrickson and Roberts' (1997) objectification theory, we tested a model of the relationships between self-objectification and disordered eating and depressive symptoms in a sample of undergraduate women ( n = 384). One postulate of self-objectification theory is that self-objectification can lead to a lack of internal awareness, which may mediate the relationship between self-objectification and restrictive eating, bulimic, and depressive symptoms. Results of structural equation modeling suggest that self-objectification has a direct relationship to restrictive eating, bulimic, and depressive symptoms. The mediational role of internal awareness was relevant for depressive symptoms but not for restrictive eating or bulimic symptoms. Depressive symptoms did, however, mediate the relationship between self-objectification and bulimic symptoms. The relevance of our findings to the understanding of objectification theory are discussed and future areas of research recommended.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoise Mac Giollabhui ◽  
Thomas M. Olino ◽  
Johanna Nielsen ◽  
Lyn Y. Abramson ◽  
Lauren B. Alloy

It is unclear whether impaired cognition is a risk factor for depression or a consequence of depression, or whether both depression and impaired cognition are caused by a third underlying process (e.g., stress). These three hypotheses were tested in 523 adolescents assessed annually for depression, attentional functioning, and childhood/recent life stress. Baseline switching, sustained, and selective attention did not predict first onset of depression or depressive symptoms. Divided attention predicted depressive symptoms only. Piecewise growth modeling indicated that the trajectory of switching attention declined prior to first onset of depression; there was evidence of significant recovery in switching attention following first onset of depression. Structural equation modeling indicated that impaired switching attention prospectively predicted higher depressive symptoms and that higher depressive symptoms predicted worse selective and switching attention. Further, childhood stress prospectively predicted higher depressive symptoms via switching attention and worse switching attention via depressive symptoms.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinald T. Thielsch ◽  
Carolin Thielsch

Background Depression, as one of the most prevalent mental disorders, is expected to become a leading cause of disability. While evidence-based treatments are not always easily accessible, Internet-based information and self-help appears as a promising approach to improve the strained supply situation by avoiding barriers of traditional offline treatment. User experience in the domain of mental problems therefore emerges as an important research topic. The aim of our study is to investigate the impact of depressive symptoms on subjective and objective measures of web user experience. Method In this two-part online study (Ntotal = 721) we investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms of web users and basic website characteristics (i.e., content, subjective and objective usability, aesthetics). Participants completed search and memory tasks on different fully-functional websites. In addition, they were asked to evaluate the given websites with standardized measures and were screened for symptoms of depression using the PHQ-9. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine whether depression severity affects users’ perception of and performance in using information websites. Results We found significant associations between depressive symptoms and subjective user experience, specifically of website content, usability, and aesthetics, as well as an effect of content perception on the overall appraisal of a website in terms of the intention to visit it again. Small yet significant negative effects of depression severity on all named subjective website evaluations were revealed, leading to an indirect negative effect on the intention to revisit a website via impaired content perceptions. However, objective task performance was not influenced by depressiveness of users. Discussion Depression emerges as capable of altering the subjective perception of a website to some extend with respect to the main features content, usability, and aesthetics. The user experience of a website is crucial, especially as it facilitates revisiting a website and thus might be relevant in avoiding drop-out in online interventions. Thus, the biased impression of persons affected by symptoms of depression and resulting needs of those users should be considered when designing and evaluating E-(Mental)-Health-platforms. The high prevalence of some mental disorders such as depression in the general population stresses the need for further investigations of the found effects.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Nikki L. Hill ◽  
Sakshi Bhargava ◽  
Emily Bratlee-Whitaker ◽  
Jennifer R. Turner ◽  
Monique J. Brown ◽  
...  

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be an early indicator of cognitive impairment, but depressive symptoms can confound this relationship. Associations may be influenced by differences between individuals (i.e., between-persons) or how each individual changes in their experiences over time (i.e., within-persons). Objective: We examined depressive symptoms as a mediator of the between- and within-person associations of SCD and objective memory in older adults. Methods: Coordinated analyses were conducted across four datasets drawn from large longitudinal studies. Samples (range: n = 1,889 to n = 15,841) included participants 65 years of age or older with no dementia at baseline. We used multilevel structural equation modeling to examine the mediation of SCD and objective memory through depressive symptoms, as well as direct relationships among SCD, objective memory, and depressive symptoms. Results: Older adults who were more likely to report SCD had lower objective memory on average (between-person associations), and depressive symptoms partially mediated this relationship in three of four datasets. However, changes in depressive symptoms did not mediate the relationship between reports of SCD and declines in objective memory in three of four datasets (within-person associations). Conclusion: Individual differences in depressive symptoms, and not changes in an individual’s depressive symptoms over time, partially explain the link between SCD and objective memory. Older adults with SCD and depressive symptoms may be at greater risk for poor cognitive outcomes. Future research should explore how perceived changes in memory affect other aspects of psychological well-being, and how these relationships influence cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease risk.


1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 851-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Susan Su ◽  
John P. Hoffmann ◽  
Dean R. Gerstein ◽  
Robert A. Johnson

We used data from the screening phase and first two waves of a panel study to compare the home environments of families with a substance-abusing parent, families with a depressed parent, and families in a comparison group. We diagnosed substance use disorder and affective disorder by administering the Structural Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (third edition, revised) to each participating parent. The data suggest that families in which parents display a substance use disorder are very similar to those in which parents suffer from affective disorder, in terms of negative life events and lower family cohesion. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that parental substance use disorder and parental affective disorder influence adolescent substance use and depressive symptoms. In addition, parental substance use disorder has a direct influence on adolescent substance use at the time the first-wave data were collected, but this effect does not persist over time.


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