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Depressed Mood During Early to Middle Adolescence: A Bi-national Longitudinal Study of the Unique Impact of Family Conflict

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

Adolescent depressed mood is related to the development of subsequent mental health problems, and family problems have been linked to adolescent depression. Longitudinal research on adolescent depressed mood is needed to establish the unique impact of family problems independent of other potential drivers. This study tested the extent to which family conflict exacerbates depressed mood during adolescence, independent of changes in depressed mood over time, academic performance, bullying victimization, negative cognitive style, and gender. Students (13 years old) participated in a three-wave bi-national study (n = 961 from the State of Washington, United States, n = 981 from Victoria, Australia; 98 % retention, 51 % female in each sample). The model was cross-lagged and controlled for the autocorrelation of depressed mood, negative cognitive style, academic failure, and bullying victimization. Family conflict partially predicted changes in depressed mood independent of changes in depressed mood over time and the other controls. There was also evidence that family conflict and adolescent depressed mood are reciprocally related over time. The findings were closely replicated across the two samples. The study identifies potential points of intervention to interrupt the progression of depressed mood in early to middle adolescence.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01-DA012140-05) for the International Youth Development Study and the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (R01AA017188-01) for analysis of the alcohol data. Continued data collection in Victoria has been supported by funding from Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects (DPO663371, DPO877359, DP1095744) and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Project 594793). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute On Drug Abuse, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, ARC or NHMRC. Data analysis was supported by ARC Discovery Project DP130102015 to A. B. Kelly (chief investigator).

Authors’ Contributions

A.B.K. had the primary role in manuscript writing. W.A.M. contributed to conceptualization and completed statistical modeling. M.B.C. and T.I.H. provided substantial contributions to the design and development of the manuscript. M.J.K. reviewed the manuscript and contributed to its design. G.C.P., S.A.H. and J.W.T. guided the theoretical contribution and the analytic method, and were lead investigators on the study on which this manuscript is based. R.F.C. provided critical review and feedback on the manuscript and was a chief investigator on the project on which the manuscript is based. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Adrian B. Kelly

  2. National Research Institute for Child and Family Studies, Boys Town, NE, USA

    W. Alex Mason & Mary B. Chmelka

  3. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Todd I. Herrenkohl

  4. College of Social Welfare, Kangnam University, Yongin, South Korea

    Min Jung Kim

  5. University of Melbourne and Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

    George C. Patton

  6. Learning Sciences Institute Australia and School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia

    Sheryl A. Hemphill

  7. School of Psychology and Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    John W. Toumbourou

  8. Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Todd I. Herrenkohl & Richard F. Catalano

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  1. Adrian B. Kelly
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  2. W. Alex Mason
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  3. Mary B. Chmelka
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Correspondence to Adrian B. Kelly.

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This research was approved by the UW Institutional Review Board and the Human Research Ethics Committee, Royal Children’s Hospital.

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All parents provided informed consent for participation of their child in the study.

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Kelly, A.B., Mason, W.A., Chmelka, M.B. et al. Depressed Mood During Early to Middle Adolescence: A Bi-national Longitudinal Study of the Unique Impact of Family Conflict. J Youth Adolescence 45, 1604–1613 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0433-2

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