Abstract
Objectives
The current study aimed to examine: (1.1) causal beliefs about adolescent depression in a sample of adolescents with a clinical depression and their mothers and fathers; (1.2) within-family overlap of causal beliefs; (2.1) mothers' and fathers' reflected causal beliefs about their child's perspective; (2.2) the accuracy of mothers' and fathers' reflected causal beliefs as related to their child's causal beliefs.
Design
Qualitative study using a within-family approach.
Methods
Adolescents with a current clinical depression (MDD/dysthymia; N = 34) and their parents (N = 34 mothers, N = 26 fathers) were independently interviewed about their causal beliefs about the adolescents' depression. Parents were additionally interviewed about their perception of their child's causal beliefs (i.e., reflected causal beliefs).
Results
The causal beliefs most frequently mentioned by adolescents, mothers and fathers are: characteristics of the child, social factors, school and various stressful experiences. Parent–child overlap was relatively low, specifically for the themes of bewilderment, cumulative effect and stressful life events, whereas overlap was relatively high for themes of social factors, school and stressful experiences outside of the family. Parents were relatively accurate in their reflected causal beliefs, but tended to underestimate their child's insights into possible causes of their depression. Accuracy of parents' reflected causal beliefs was particularly low for the theme cumulative effect and high for social factors.
Conclusions
The various causal beliefs of adolescents and their parents could be used in therapeutic setting. Future research could examine whether (guided) conversations may promote alignment within families and treatment efficacy.
The current study aimed to examine: (1.1) causal beliefs about adolescent depression in a sample of adolescents with a clinical depression and their mothers and fathers; (1.2) within-family overlap of causal beliefs; (2.1) mothers' and fathers' reflected causal beliefs about their child's perspective; (2.2) the accuracy of mothers' and fathers' reflected causal beliefs as related to their child's causal beliefs.
Design
Qualitative study using a within-family approach.
Methods
Adolescents with a current clinical depression (MDD/dysthymia; N = 34) and their parents (N = 34 mothers, N = 26 fathers) were independently interviewed about their causal beliefs about the adolescents' depression. Parents were additionally interviewed about their perception of their child's causal beliefs (i.e., reflected causal beliefs).
Results
The causal beliefs most frequently mentioned by adolescents, mothers and fathers are: characteristics of the child, social factors, school and various stressful experiences. Parent–child overlap was relatively low, specifically for the themes of bewilderment, cumulative effect and stressful life events, whereas overlap was relatively high for themes of social factors, school and stressful experiences outside of the family. Parents were relatively accurate in their reflected causal beliefs, but tended to underestimate their child's insights into possible causes of their depression. Accuracy of parents' reflected causal beliefs was particularly low for the theme cumulative effect and high for social factors.
Conclusions
The various causal beliefs of adolescents and their parents could be used in therapeutic setting. Future research could examine whether (guided) conversations may promote alignment within families and treatment efficacy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 477-497 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2024 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Authors. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Psychological Society.
Funding
Many thanks to all participating families, collaborating practitioners and assisting students. A special thanks to Annelot van Geffen, Willemijn Cobben, Veerle Bastiaansen and Elif Uyanik for their assistance in (the coordination of) the coding of the interviews. The study is supported by a personal research grant awarded to Bernet Elzinga by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO\u2010VICI; ). Unravelling the Impact of Emotional Maltreatment on the Developing Brain, 453\u201015\u2010006
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | |
| NWO‐VICI | 453-15-006 |
Keywords
- adolescent
- depression
- grounded theory
- qualitative research
