Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T15:59:51.613Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Parental Criticism and Adolescent Depression: Does Adolescent Self-Evaluation Act as a Mediator?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2009

Catherine Bolton ,
Christine Barrowclough  and
Rachel Calam
Catherine Bolton
Affiliation:
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Christine Barrowclough
Affiliation:
University of Manchester, UK
Rachel Calam*
Affiliation:
University of Manchester, UK
*
Reprint requests to Rachel Calam, University of Manchester, School of Psychological Sciences, Zochonis Building, Brunswick Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: A better understanding of relationships between adolescent depression and family functioning may help in devising ways to prevent development of depression and design effective therapeutic interventions. Aims: This study explored the relationship of parental emotional attitudes, (perceived criticism and expressed emotion) to adolescent self-evaluation and depression. Methods: A sample of 28 clinic-referred adolescents and their mothers participated. The Five Minute Speech Sample was used to measure parental expressed emotion, and the adolescents completed the Children's Depression Inventory, Self-Perception Profile for Children global self-worth scale, a self-criticism scale and a perceived parental criticism scale. Results: There was partial support for a model of adolescent negative self-evaluation as a mediator in the relationship between parental emotional attitudes and adolescent depressive symptoms. The data also supported an alternative hypothesis whereby adolescent depressive symptoms are related to negative self-evaluation. Conclusions: The overall pattern of results emphasizes the significance of adolescents' perceptions of parental criticism, rather than actual levels, in understanding the relationship between parental emotional attitudes and adolescent depressive symptoms.

Keywords

Depressionself-evaluationexpressed emotionparenting
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 37 , Issue 5 , October 2009 , pp. 553 - 570
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, J. P., Insabella, G., Porter, M. R., Smith, F. D., Land, D. and Phillips, N. (2006). A social-interactional model of the development of depressive symptoms in adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 55–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alloy, L. B. (2001). The developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression: negative interpersonal context leads to personal vulnerability. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25, 349–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alloy, L. B. (1999). Cognitive Processes in Depression. London: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Abramson, L. Y., Alloy, L. B., Hogan, M. E., Whitehouse, W. G., Donovan, P., Rose, D. T., Panzarella, C. and Raniere, D. (1999). Cognitive vulnerability to depression: theory and evidence. Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 13, 5–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews, B. (1998). Self-esteem. The Psychologist, 11, 339–349.Google Scholar
Andrews, B. and Brown, G. W. (1993). Self-esteem and vulnerability to depression: the concurrent validity of interview and questionnaire measures. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 565–572.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asarnow, J. R., Goldstein, M. J., Tompson, M. and Guthrie, D. (1993). One-year outcomes of depressive disorders in child psychiatric in-patients: evaluation of the prognostic power of a brief measure of expressed emotion. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 129–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asarnow, J. R., Tompson, M., Hamilton, E. B., Goldstein, M. J. and Guthrie, D. (1994). Family expressed emotion, childhood onset depression, and childhood onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders: is expressed emotion a non-specific correlate of child psychopathology or a specific risk factor for depression? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22, 129–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asarnow, J. R., Tompson, M., Woo, S. and Cantwell, D. P. (2001). Is expressed emotion a specific risk factor for depression or a non-specific correlate of psychopathology? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 573–583.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baron, R. M. and Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barrowclough, C., Tarrier, N., Humphreys, L., Ward, J., Gregg, L. and Andrews, B. (2003). Self-esteem in schizophrenia: the relationships between self-evaluation, family attitudes and symptomatology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 92–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F. and Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bolton, C., Calam, R., Barrowclough, C., Peters, S., Roberts, J. and Wearden, A. (2003). Expressed emotion, attributions and depression in mothers of children with problem behaviour. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 242–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewin, C. R. (1988). Cognitive Foundations of Clinical Psychology. London. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B. and Furnham, A. (1996). Self-critical attitudes and parental criticism in young women. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 69, 69–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B. and Gotlib, I. H. (1993). Psychopathology and early experience: a reappraisal of retrospective reports. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 82–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., Andrews, B., Bifulco, A. and Veiel, H. O. F. (1990). Self-esteem and depression 1. Measurement issues and prediction of onset. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 200–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., Bifulco, A. and Andrews, B. (1990a). Self-esteem and depression III. Aetiological issues. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 235–243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., Bifulco, A. and Andrews, B. (1990b). Self-esteem and depression IV. Effect on course and recovery. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 244–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., Bifulco, A., Veiel, H. O. F. and Andrews, B. (1990). Self-esteem and depression II. Social correlates of self-esteem. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 225–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calam, R., Bolton, C. and Roberts, J. (2002). Brief communication: maternal expressed emotion and clinician ratings of emotional maltreatment potential. Child Abuse and Neglect, 26, 1101–1106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, D. A., Jacquez, J. M. and Maschman, T. L. (2001). Social origins of depressive cognitions: a longitudinal study of self-perceived competence in children. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25, 377–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, D. A., Martin, J. M. and Powers, B. (1997). A competency-based model of child depression: a longitudinal study of peer, parent, teacher, and self-evaluations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 503–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Connell, A. M. and Dishion, T. J. (2008) Reducing depression among at-risk early adolescents: three year effects of a family-centered intervention embedded within schools. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 574–585.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Scribner.Google Scholar
Coyne, J. C. and Gotlib, I. H. (1983). The role of cognition in depression: a critical appraisal. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 472–505.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Emler, N. (2001). Self-Esteem: the costs and causes of low self-worth. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. UK: York Publishing Services Ltd.Google Scholar
Fristad, M. A., Emery, B. L. and Beck, S. J. (1997). Use and abuse of the Children's Depression Inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 699–707.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frye, A. A. and Garber, J. (2005). The relations among maternal depression, maternal criticism, and adolescents'externalising and internalising symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garber, J. and Flynn, C. (2001). Predictors of depressive cognitions in young people. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25, 353–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garber, J., Robinson, N. S. and Valentiner, D. (1997). The relation between parenting and adolescent depression: self-worth as a mediator. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 12–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibb, B. E. (2002). Childhood maltreatment and negative cognitive styles: a quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 223–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, R. (1994). A modified version of the Rutter parent questionnaire including items on children' strengths: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 1483–1494.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1337–1345.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, S. H. and Gotlib, I. H. (1999). Risk for psychopathology in children of depressed mothers: a developmental model for understanding mechanisms of transmission. Psychological Review, 106, 458–490.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodyer, I. M. (Ed.) (2001). The Depressed Child and Adolescent. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gotlib, I. H. and Hammen, C. L. (1992). Psychological Aspects of Depression: toward a cognitive-interpersonal integration. New York. Wiley.Google Scholar
Hammen, C. (1988). Self-cognitions, stressful events, and the prediction of depression in children of depressed mothers. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 347–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammen, C., Burge, D. and Stansbury, K. (1991). Relationship of mother and child variables to child outcomes in a high-risk sample: a causal modelling analysis. Developmental Psychology, 26, 24–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harter, S. (1985). The Self-Perception Profile for Children: revision of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children – Manual. Denver: University of Denver.Google Scholar
Harter, S. (1993). Causes and consequences of low self-esteem in children and adolescents. In Baumeister, R. F. (Ed.), Self-esteem: the puzzle of low self-regard. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Harter, S. and Whitesell, N. R. (1996). Multiple pathways to self-reported depression and psychological adjustment among adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 761–777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooley, J. M. and Teasdale, J. D. (1989). Predictors of relapse in unipolar depressives: expressed emotion, marital distress, and perceived criticism. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 229–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ingram, R. E. (2003). Origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 77–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingram, R. E., Miranda, J. and Segal, Z. (1998). Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Ingram, R. E. and Ritter, J. (2000). Vulnerability to depression: cognitive reactivity and parental bonding in high-risk individuals. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 588–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobsen, T., Hibbs, E. and Ziegenhain, U. (2000). Maternal expressed emotion related to attachment disorganisation in early childhood: a preliminary report. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 899–906.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaslow, N. J., Deering, C. G. and Racusin, G. R. (1994). Depressed children and their families. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 39–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kersner, J. G., Cohen, N. J. and Coyne, J. C. (1996). Expressed emotion in families of clinically referred and non-referred children: toward a further understanding of the expressed emotion construct. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 97–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim Park, I. J., Garber, J. and Ciesla, J. A. and Ellis, B. J. (2008). Convergence among multiple methods of measuring positivity and negativity in the family environment: relation to depression in their mothers and their children. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 123–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M. (1992). The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) Manual. Toronto, ON: Multi-health Systems.Google Scholar
Lovejoy, M. C., Graczyk, P. A., O'Hare, E. and Neuman, G. (2000). Maternal depression and parenting behavior: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 561–592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Magana, A. B., Goldstein, M. J., Karno, M., Miklowitz, D. J., Jenkins, J. and Falloon, I. R. H. (1986). A brief method for assessing expressed emotion in relatives of psychiatric patients. Psychiatry Research, 17, 203–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markus, H. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 63–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. and Wurf, E. (1987). The dynamic self-concept: a social psychological perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 38, 299–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, V. G., Longwell, l., Goldstein, M. J. and Swanson, J. M. (1990). Family factors associated with aggressive symptomatology in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 629–636.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCauley, E., Pavlidis, K. and Kendall, K. (2001). Developmental precursors of depression: the child and the social environment. In Goodyer, I. M. (Ed.), The Depressed Child and Adolescent (pp.46–78). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCleary, L. and Sanford, M. (2002). Parental expressed emotion in depressed adolescents: prediction of clinical course and relationship to comorbid disorders and social functioning. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43, 587–595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGrath, E. P. and Repetti, R. L. (2002). A longitudinal study of children's depressive symptoms, self-perceptions, and cognitive distortions about the self. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 77–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Meltzer, H., Gatward, R., Goodman, R. and Ford, T. (2000) Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Great Britain. London: The Stationery Office.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muris, P., Schmidt, H., Lambrichs, R. and Meesters, C. (2001). Protective and vulnerability factors of depression in normal adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 555–565.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson, D. R., Hammen, C., Brennan, P. A. and Ullman, J. B. (2003). The impact of maternal depression on adolescent adjustment: the role of expressed emotion. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 935–944.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pelham, B. W. and Swann, W. B. (1989). From self-conceptions to self-worth: on the sources and structure of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 672–680.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapee, R. M. (1997). Potential role of childrearing practices in the development of anxiety and depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 17, 47–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, J. E., Gotlib, I. H. and Kassel, J. D. (1996). Adult attachment security and symptoms of depression: the mediating roles of dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 310–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, J. E. and Monroe, S. M. (1994). A multi-dimensional model of self-esteem in depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 161–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, N. S., Garber, J. and Hilsman, R. (1995). Cognitions and stress: direct and moderating effects on depressive versus externalising symptoms during junior high school transition. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 453–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rose, D. T. and Abramson, L. Y. (1992). Developmental predictors of depressive cognitive style: research and theory. In Cichetti, D. and Toth, S. (Eds.), Rochester Symposium of Developmental Psychopathology, vol. IV (pp. 323–349). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, M. (1995). Global self-esteem and specific self-esteem: different concepts, different outcomes. American Sociological Review, 60, 141–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M. L. (1999). Psychosocial adversity and child psychopathology. British Journal of Psychiatry, 174, 480–493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sachs-Ericsson, N., Verona, E., Joiner, T. and Preacher, K. J. (2006). Parental verbal abuse and the mediating role of self-criticism in adult internalising disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 93, 71–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sander, J. B. and McCarty, C. A. (2005). Youth depression in the family context: familial risk factors and models of treatment. Clinical Child and Family Psychology, 8, 203–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaw, K. S. and Dallos, R. (2005). Attachment and adolescent depression: the impact of early attachment experiences. Attachment and Human Development, 7, 409–424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheeber, L., Hops, H. and Davis, B. (2001). Family processes in adolescent depression. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 4, 19–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shirk, S. R., Gudmundsen, G. R., Gretchen, R. and Burwell, R. A. (2005) Links among attachment-related cognitions and adolescent depressive symptoms. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 172–181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sitarenios, G. and Kovacs, M. (1999). Use of the Children's Depression Inventory. In Maruish, M. E. (Ed.), The Use of Psychological Testing for Treatment Planning and Outcomes Assessment, (pp.267–298). 2nd Edition. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Smith, M., Calam, R. and Bolton, C. (2009). Psychological factors linked to self-reported depression symptoms in late adolescence. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37, 73–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Streiner, D. L. and Norman, G. R. (1995). Health Measurement Scales: a practical guide to their development and use (2nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Teasdale, J. D. (1983). Negative thinking in depression: cause, effect or reciprocal relationship? Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 5, 3–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van-Furth, E. F., van Strien, D.C., van Son, M. J. M. and van Engeland, H. (1993). The validity of the Five Minute Speech Sample as an index of expressed emotion in parents of eating disorder patients. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 1253–1260.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaughn, C. E. and Leff, J. P. (1976). The influence of family and social factors on the course of psychiatric illness: a comparison of schizophrenic and depressed neurotic patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 129, 125–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wamboldt, F. S., O'Connor, S. L., Wamboldt, M. Z., Gavin, L. A. and Klinnert, M. D. (2000). The Five Minute Speech Sample in children with asthma: deconstructing the concept of expressed emotion. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 887–898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wamboldt, M. Z. and Wamboldt, F. S. (2000). Role of the family in the onset and outcome of childhood disorders: selected research findings. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1212–1219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wearden, A. J., Tarrier, N., Barrowclough, C., Zastowney, T. R. and Rahill, A. A. (2000). A review of expressed emotion research in healthcare. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 633–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weintraub, P. and Wamboldt, M. Z. (1996). Expressed emotion in child psychiatry: a risk factor for psychopathology and treatment resistance? Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 9, 241–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, J. E. (1999). Cognitive therapy for personality disorders: a schema-focused approach (1999). Third edition. Professional Resource Exchange.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.