The significance of parental depressed mood for young adolescents' emotional and family experiences

Drawing from a larger longitudinal investigation, the links between young adolescents' everyday experiences and parental depressed mood were examined in 201 primarily Caucasian family groups. The current study used data collected when the adolescents were in seventh and eighth grade. Families in which at least one parent reported recurrent depressed mood (n = 36) were compared with a contrast group of families (n = 165). Adolescents in the recurrent parent depression group reported higher levels of depressed mood and greater family conflict. Experience Sampling Method data revealed that boys in the recurrent parent depression group spent more time with their families compared with girls in that group. Adolescents with depressed parents, especially girls, reported less positive mood when with their families. Analyses identified characteristics that distinguished between adolescents with depressed parents who themselves were experiencing elevated depressed mood and adolescents who did not show elevated depressed mood.