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Cheryl A King

Publications and source records attributed to Cheryl A King.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Remissions in maternal depression and child psychopathology: a STAR*D-child report.

CONTEXT: Children of depressed parents have high rates of anxiety, disruptive, and depressive disorders that begin early, often continue into adulthood, and are impairing. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether effective treatment with medication of women with major depression is associated with reduction of symptoms and diagnoses in their children. DESIGN: Assessments of children whose depressed mothers were being treated with medication as part of the multicenter Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial conducted (between December 16, 2001 and April 24, 2004) in broadly representative primary and psychiatric outpatient practices. Children were assessed by a team of evaluators not involved in maternal treatment and unaware of maternal outcomes. Study is ongoing with cases followed at 3-month intervals. SETTING AND PATIENTS: One hundred fifty-one mother-child pairs in 8 primary care and 11 psychiatric outpatient clinics across 7 regional centers in the United States. Children were aged 7 to 17 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Child diagnoses based on the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia; child symptoms based on the Child Behavior Checklist; child functioning based on the Child Global Assessment Scale in mothers whose depression with treatment remitted with a score of 7 or lower or whose depression did not remit with a score higher than 7 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. RESULTS: Remission of maternal depression after 3 months of medication treatment was significantly associated with reductions in the children's diagnoses and symptoms. There was an overall 11% decrease in rates of diagnoses in children of mothers whose depression remitted compared with an approximate 8% increase in rates of diagnoses in children of mothers whose depression did not. This rate difference remained statistically significant after controlling for the child's age and sex, and possible confounding factors (P = .01). Of the children with a diagnosis at baseline, remission was reported in 33% of those whose mothers' depression remitted compared with only a 12% remission rate among children of mothers whose depression did not remit. All children of mothers whose depression remitted after treatment and who themselves had no baseline diagnosis for depression remained free of psychiatric diagnoses at 3 months, whereas 17% of the children whose mothers remained depressed acquired a diagnosis. Findings were similar using child symptoms as an outcome. Greater level of maternal response was associated with fewer current diagnoses and symptoms in the children, and a maternal response of at least 50% was required to detect an improvement in the child. CONCLUSIONS: Remission of maternal depression has a positive effect on both mothers and their children, whereas mothers who remain depressed may increase the rates of their children's disorders. These findings support the importance of vigorous treatment for depressed mothers in primary care or psychiatric clinics and suggest the utility of evaluating the children, especially children whose mothers continue to be depressed.

Adult↗

Suicidal adolescents' social support from family and peers: gender-specific associations with psychopathology.

Perceptions of social support from family, non-family adults, and peers were examined in relation to the psychopathology reported by 220 suicidal adolescents (152 females) during a psychiatric hospitalization. Results of regression analyses showed that, among females, family support was negatively related to hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Among males, peer support was positively associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Across gender, more peer support was associated with more externalizing behavior problems; whereas, family support was negatively related to these problems and to alcohol/substance abuse. Paralleling normative findings, age was positively associated with peer support, and females perceived more peer support than did males. Findings extend previous research on social support to suicidal adolescents, and broaden the literature by examining extrafamilial support and a broader range of relevant psychopathology. That is, perceived social support relates to psychiatric impairment differentially by gender, and normative, age-related variations in perceptions of social support are detected even among highly impaired adolescents. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Youth-Nominated Support Team for Suicidal Adolescents (Version 1): a randomized controlled trial.

In this study, the authors investigated the efficacy of the Youth-Nominated Support Team-Version 1 (YST-1), a psychoeducational social network intervention, with 289 suicidal, psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (197 girls, 92 boys). Adolescents were randomly assigned to treatment-as-usual plus YST-1 or treatment-as-usual only. Assessments were completed pre- and postintervention (6 months). There were no main effects for YST-1 on suicide ideation or attempts, internalizing symptoms, or related functional impairment. Relative to other girls, however, those who received YST-1 reported greater decreases in self-reported suicidal ideation (actually treated analytic strategy) and significantly greater decreases in mood-related functional impairment reported by their parents (intent to treat and actually treated analytic strategies). This is the first randomized controlled clinical trial to investigate the efficacy of a social network intervention with suicidal youths.

Adolescent↗

Children of currently depressed mothers: a STAR*D ancillary study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the current and lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children of currently depressed mothers and to assess the association of clinical features of maternal depression (i.e., severity, chronicity, and clinical features) with child psychopathology. Mothers were participants in the STAR*D (Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression) multisite trial, designed to compare effectiveness and acceptability of different treatment options for outpatients with non-psychotic major depressive disorder (MDD). METHOD: Treatment-seeking mothers with a current DSM-IV diagnosis of MDD and with at least 1 child 7 to 17 years old were assessed during a major depressive episode (MDE). For each mother, 1 child was assessed (if a mother had more than 1 child, 1 was randomly selected). Maternal features assessed for this study were history of MDEs, severity of current MDE, comorbid conditions, depressive symptom features, and social functioning. Children were assessed for selected psychiatric diagnoses (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version [K-SADS-PL]), psychopathologic symptoms and social functioning (Child Behavior Checklist), and global functioning (Children's Global Assessment Scale). Data were gathered from December 2001 to April 2004. RESULTS: A large proportion (72%) of mothers were severely depressed (17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score >/= 22). About a third (34%) of children had a current psychiatric disorder, including disruptive behavior (22%), anxiety (16%), and depressive (10%) disorders. Nearly half (45%) had a lifetime psychiatric disorder, including disruptive behavior (29%), anxiety (20%), and depressive (19%) disorders. Atypical depressive features in the mother were associated with a 3-fold increase in the odds of having a child with depressive (OR = 3.3 [95% CI = 1.2 to 9.5]; p = .02) or anxiety (OR = 2.6 [95% CI = 1.1 to 6.9]; p = .03) disorders. A history of maternal suicide attempts and the presence of comorbid panic disorder with agoraphobia were associated with a 3-fold increase and an 8-fold increase in the odds of depressive disorders in the offspring, respectively. The final model showed significant associations (p </= .05) between the following characteristics of maternal depression and offspring disorders: maternal comorbid panic disorder with agoraphobia and offspring depressive and anxiety disorders, maternal irritable depression and offspring disruptive behavior disorders and any disorder, and maternal substance use disorders and any disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Children of mothers in the midst of a current MDE are at high risk for disruptive behavior and anxiety disorders. The elevated risk of psychopathology among children of depressed mothers may recommend assessment of these children when clinically suggested. Children of depressed mothers with comorbid panic disorder with agoraphobia are at high risk for depressive and anxiety disorders and deserve special attention from clinicians.

Adult↗

Major depressive disorder in adolescents: family psychiatric history predicts severe behavioral disinhibition.

BACKGROUND: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) becomes increasingly prevalent during adolescence and is associated with substantial psychiatric comorbidity and psychosocial impairment. The marked behavioral heterogeneity evident among adolescents with MDD suggests the possibility of distinct subtypes. This study was designed to determine whether family psychiatric histories differ between groups of MDD adolescents defined by the presence or absence of severe behavioral disinhibition. METHODS: Adolescents with MDD (n = 71) completed the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory--Adapted, Adolescent Aggressive Incidents Interview (AAII), Measure of Aggression, Violence, and Rage in Children, Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-JR., Suicidal Behavior Inventory, and Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale. Parents completed the Family Informant Schedule and Criteria, Children's Affective Liability Scale, AAII, and a partial DISC. Behavioral disinhibition (BD) measures were used to assign adolescents to MDD+BD (n = 41) and MDD-BD (n = 30) groups. RESULTS: The MDD+BD group had a higher prevalence of drug use disorders in biological fathers than the MDD-BD group. The MDD+BD group also had higher proportions of paternal second degree relatives with alcohol use disorders, drug use disorders, and psychiatric hospitalizations, and a higher proportion of maternal second degree relatives with antisocial personality disorder. LIMITATIONS: Limitations include reliance on single informants for family psychiatric histories and the failure to distinguish between child- and adolescent-onset depression. CONCLUSIONS: Family psychiatric histories differentiated MDD adolescents grouped by the presence or absence of behavioral disinhibition, suggesting possible etiologic mechanisms. Further research on subtypes or comorbid presentations may assist in the development of targeted treatment strategies.

Acting Out↗

Prevalence of depression by race/ethnicity: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III.

Depression prevalence was examined by race/ethnicity in a nationally representative sample. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule was administered to 8449 (response rate=96.1%) participants (aged 15-40 years). Prevalence of major depressive disorder was significantly higher in Whites than in African Americans and Mexican Americans; the opposite pattern was found for dysthymic disorder. Across racial/ethnic groups, poverty was a significant risk factor for major depressive disorder, but significant interactions occurred between race/ethnicity, gender, and education in relation to prevalence of dysthymic disorder.

Adolescent↗

Parental identification of depression and mental health service use among depressed adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine a proposed pathway to service use among depressed adolescents, this study assessed the effects of (1) parental perceptions of family burden due to adolescents'depression, (2) adolescent-parent communication, (3) parents' depressive symptomatology, and (4) comorbid substance use disorders on parental identification of adolescent depression and use of mental health services. METHOD: A two-stage screening process was used to recruit 44 depressed adolescents and their parents from pediatrics clinics between 1997 and 1999. Measures included structured diagnostic interviews with adolescents, the Child and Adolescent Services Assessment, the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory (for parents), and the Communication subscale of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. RESULTS: When history of service use was controlled, two predictors--parental perceptions of family burden and presence of a substance use disorder in the adolescent--were most strongly related to parental depression-identification. The data support the role of parental identification of depression as a mediator between the parent/adolescent characteristics and reports of mental health service use. CONCLUSION: Enhancing parents' abilities to identify and understand signs of depression may facilitate service use among depressed adolescents.

Adolescent↗