Assessment of parental expressed emotion: associations with adolescent depressive symptoms among youth with spina bifida.
OBJECTIVE
A longitudinal multi-method, multi-informant design was utilized to investigate parental expressed emotion (EE) as a predictor of depressive symptoms among adolescents with spina bifida (n=60) and a matched comparison sample (n=65).


METHODS
A newly modified self-administered audiotaped interview methodology was used to assess parental warmth and criticism across the middle adolescent developmental period (ages 14-17). Parent- and youth-reports of adolescent depressive symptoms were obtained at each time point.


RESULTS
Significant cross-sectional associations between parental EE variables and youth depressive symptoms were found for both groups. Significant longitudinal relations between maternal criticism and parent proxy-report of youth depressive symptoms were also found across 2 years for the spina bifida group and across 4 years for both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This modified measure of parental EE can be used in future pediatric research that focuses on precursors or outcomes of this important parenting construct.
Kelly
Lauren M
LM
Loyola University Chicago, Department of Psychology, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626, USA.
Holmbeck
Grayson N
GN
O'Mahar
Kerry
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017846:Longitudinal Ligaments; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*