Cross-situational coping with peer and family stressors in adolescent offspring of depressed parents

• Published in: Journal of adolescence (London, England.) England.), 2007-12, Vol.30 (6), p.917-932
• Main Authors: Jaser, Sarah S, Champion, Jennifer E, Reeslund, Kristen L, Keller, Gary, Merchant, Mary Jane, Benson, Molly, Compas, Bruce E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aggression; Aggression - psychology; Anxiety; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - psychology; Avoidance; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Child of Impaired Parents - psychology; Coping; Coping strategies; Correlation; Defense Mechanisms; Depression; Depression (Psychology); Depression - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology; Developmental psychology; Dysthymic Disorder - parasitology; Emotional disorders; Emotions; Family (Sociological Unit); Family - psychology; Family Environment; Family environment. Family history; Family Life; Family Relationship; Family stress; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mood disorders; Parent Child Relations; Parent Influence; Parental depression; Parents; Pediatrics; Peer Group; Peer Relations; Peer Relationship; Peer relationships; Personality Assessment; Pilot Projects; Problem Solving; Psychological aspects; Psychological Patterns; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Self Expression; Social Environment; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Stress Variables; Stress, Psychological - complications; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Teenagers
• ISSN: 0140-1971; 1095-9254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.11.010

Abstract Offspring of depressed parents are faced with significant interpersonal stress both within their families and in peer relationships. The present study examined parent and self-reports of adolescents’ coping in response to family and peer stressors in 73 adolescent children of parents with a history of depression. Correlational analyses indicated that adolescents were moderately consistent in the coping strategies used with peer stress and family stress. Mean levels of coping were similar across situations, as adolescents reported greater use of secondary control coping (i.e., acceptance, distraction) than primary control coping (i.e., problem solving, emotional expression) or disengagement coping (i.e., avoidance) with both types of stress. Regression analyses indicated that fewer symptoms of self-reported anxiety/depression and aggression were related to using secondary control coping strategies in response to family stress and primary control coping in response to peer stress. Implications for understanding the characteristics of effective coping with stress related to living with a depressed parent are highlighted.