title: Assessment of parental expressed emotion: associations with adolescent depressive symptoms among youth with spina bifida.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Loyola University Chicago, Department of Psychology, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Grayson N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Holmbeck
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Mahar
mesh_terms: 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*