Caretaking Behaviors and Stress Reactivity in Adolescents of Depressed Parents

Abstract

The mechanisms of stress responses “fight or flight” and “tend and befriend” were used to define the stress response to parental depression. In a sample of 180 families of parents with a history of major depressive disorder, observed and reported caretaking behaviors and levels of stress-reactivity were examined. The association of children’s emotional and instrumental caretaking behaviors with levels of physiological and emotional stress response will be identified.