Child self-regulation (SR), a key indicator for later optimal developmental outcomes, may be compromised in the presence of parental mental disorders, especially those characterized by affective dysregulation. However, positive parental behaviors have been shown to buffer against such negative effects, especially during infancy when SR shows great plasticity to environmental inputs. The current study investigated the effect of maternal and paternal lifetime and current internalizing disorders on the developmental trajectory of infant SR from 3 to 24 months, and the potential moderating role of positive parental behaviors. A latent growth model revealed that SR increased overall from 3 to 24 months. Mothers’ positive parental behaviors demonstrated significant moderation effects, such that maternal lifetime internalizing disorder was associated with higher SR intercept only among those with low levels of positive parental behavior. Mothers’ lifetime internalizing disorder was also associated with a lower linear slope in SR development with a moderate effect size. Fathers’ current internalizing disorder was significantly associated with a higher intercept and lower linear slope of the SR trajectory. The current study expands the infant SR literature by describing its early developmental trajectory as well as early risk and protective factors within the parent–infant environment, taking into consideration developmental inputs from both parents.

This study evaluated the efficacy of a family-centered preventive intervention, the Family Check-Up (FCU), delivered as an online, eHealth model to middle school families. To increase accessibility of family-centered prevention in schools, we adapted the evidence-based FCU to an online format, with the goal of providing a model of service delivery that is feasible, given limited staffing and resources in many schools. Building on prior research, we randomly assigned participants to waitlist control (n = 105), FCU Online as a web-based intervention (n = 109), and FCU Online with coaching support (n = 108). We tested the effects of the intervention on multiple outcomes, including parental self-efficacy, child self-regulation, and child behavior, in this registered clinical trial (NCT03060291). Families engaged in the intervention at a high rate (72% completed the FCU assessment) and completed 3-month posttest assessments with good retention (94% retained). Random assignment to the FCU Online with coaching support was associated with reduced emotional problems for children (p = .003, d = −0.32) and improved parental confidence and self-efficacy (p = .018, d = 0.25) when compared with waitlist controls. Risk moderated effects: at-risk youth showed stronger effects than did those with minimal risk. The results have implications for online delivery of family-centered interventions in schools.

Background. The question of whether unipolar clinical depression differs categorically from limited depressive complaints has important implications for the disorder's assessment, treatment and research. This crucial issue has proven difficult to resolve, in part because many studies to date have relied on self-report measures or on clinically homogeneous samples. We therefore applied Meehl's taxometric method to a large, clinically heterogeneous sample, and examined the latent structure of depressive episodes using both self-report and structured clinical interview data.

Method. Data were derived from the Oregon Adolescent Depression Project, a large longitudinal community study. All analyses involved more than 1400 participants. MAXEIG (MAXimum EIGenvalue) and base rate estimation were performed separately for Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) items and for DSM-IV-based major depressive episode (MDE) symptoms.

Results. MAXEIG analyses of the BDI and MDE indicator sets appeared to converge on a taxonic structure for unipolar depression. Base rate estimates overall implied a latent depressive episode class that occurs more frequently than diagnosable MDEs but less frequently than persistent depressed or anhedonic mood.

Conclusions. These findings provide tentative support for a categorical conceptualization and make it very clear that the continuity controversy regarding unipolar depression has not yet been decided in favor of dimensionality. To reconcile the conflicting reports to date, several data analytic and sampling issues need to be explored systematically.

Background. There is a large literature indicating that the offspring of mothers with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are at increased risk for depression. However, much less is known about the effects of paternal MDD on offspring psychopathology.

Method. We addressed this issue using a large community sample of parents and their adolescent and young adult offspring (n=775). Parents and offspring were independently assessed with semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Offspring were interviewed three times from mid-adolescence to age 24 years.

Results. Maternal MDD was significantly associated with offspring MDD. Paternal MDD was also significantly associated with MDD in offspring, but only among offspring with depressive episodes of moderate or greater severity. These effects persisted after controlling for socio-economic status, family intactness, and non-mood disorders in both parents. Rates of MDD were particularly elevated in offspring of mothers and fathers with early-onset MDD, and offspring of fathers with recurrent MDD. The magnitude of the associations between MDD in parents and offspring was generally in the small-to-medium range.

Conclusions. These results confirm previous findings of elevated risk of MDD in the offspring of depressed mothers. In addition, the results suggest that MDD in fathers is associated with increased risk of depression in offspring, but that it is limited to MDD episodes in offspring of moderate or greater severity.

The relationship between a range of prenatal and perinatal events and risk for psychopathology in offspring was examined. Prenatal and perinatal events investigated included maternal experiences, health, and substance use during pregnancy, obstetric complications, feeding practices, and infant health during the first year of life. Offspring diagnosis was based on structured interviews conducted with 579 adolescents on two occasions. Risk for later psychopathology was associated with a number of prenatal and perinatal factors. Major depression was associated with not being breast fed and maternal emotional problems during the pregnancy. Anxiety was chiefly associated with fever and illness during the first year of life and maternal history of miscarriage and stillbirth. Disruptive behavior disorder was associated with poor maternal emotional health during the pregnancy and birth complications. Risk for substance use disorder was associated with maternal use of substances during the pregnancy. Mediating effects of maternal depression, maternal–child conflict, and physical symptoms in the child, and moderating effects of gender of child and parental education were also evaluated. The limitations of this study are discussed and future research directions are suggested.