Coping and Social Competence as Processes of Resilience in a Family Cognitive-Behavioral Preventive Intervention for Children of Depressed Parents

Abstract

The stress associated parental depression poses a significant risk factor to offspring of depressed parents. However, the availability of psychosocial resources, such as coping and social competence, may counteract or lessen the disruptive effects of living with a depressed parent. In a randomized clinical trial with parents with a history of major depressive disorder and their 9 –15-year-old offspring (n = 155), adolescents’ coping and social competence were examined as moderators and mediators of the effects of a family group cognitive behavioral preventive intervention on adolescents’ anxiety/depression and internalizing symptoms. Hypothesized moderators were measured at baseline, changes in hypothesized mediators were assessed at post-intervention (2 months) and after completion of 4 monthly booster sessions (6 months), and adolescent outcomes were measured at 12-month follow-up. Evidence emerged for a mediated model in which changes in adolescents’ secondary control coping at 6 months accounted for the effects of the intervention on anxiety/depressive and internalizing symptoms. No support emerged for social competence as a mediator or any of the tested moderated models. Implications for the prevention of psychopathology in offspring of depressed parents are highlighted.