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Disrupting Maternal Transmission of Depression: Using Integrative Data Analysis (IDA) to Examine Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) Across Three Randomized Trials

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Abstract

Maternal depression is a well-established risk factor for the development of depression in offspring. As such, reducing maternal depression may be key to effective prevention efforts to reduce offspring’s depression. Based on the broad risk represented by maternal depression, examining cross-over effects of parent-focused interventions on maternal depression is important. The present study examined improvements in maternal depression as a mediator of the long-term effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) prevention program on youth depression across three randomized controlled trials. The FCU is a family-focused intervention originally designed to reduce youth problem behaviors, particularly conduct problems and substance use, but has also been found to have cross-over effects on other youth problem behaviors, including internalizing symptoms. We utilized integrative data analysis that allows for powerful tests of prevention effects across trials, specifically moderated nonlinear factor analysis, to integrate data across three trials: one trial initiated in early childhood and two in early adolescence. Using a latent growth modeling approach, we first examined direct effects of the FCU on changes in maternal depression. Then we examined the mediating effect of maternal depression on changes in both parent and youth reports of youth depression. A significant intervention effect on maternal depression was observed across the three trials, with the FCU predicting improvements in maternal depression. In turn, such improvements predicted a reduction in the growth in both parent and youth reports of youth depressive symptoms across 10 years post baseline. These results demonstrate the utility in addressing cross-over effects of family-focused interventions in reducing the long-term development of depression in youth through mediating pathways.

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Data Availability

Data will be made available by request, please contact Arin M. Connell.

Notes

  1. Data will be made available by request, please contact Arin M. Connell.

  2. In clinical trials of the FCU, the assessments are often conducted by trained research assistants, while the get-to-know-you sessions are conducted by FCU interventionists. Therefore, contrary to clinical practice, in clinical trials, the assessment precedes the get-to-know-you session in order to maintain blindness of intervention group assignment during the assessment.

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Funding

This research was supported by grants from NIMH (MH122213 to Connell, Shaw, Wilson, Stormshak, Westling, & Ha), NIDA (DA25630 and DA26222 to Shaw, Dishion, and Wilson; DA07031 to Ha; and DA018374 to Stormshak), NIAAA (AA022071 to Ha), and NICHD (HD075150 to Stormshak).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

    Samuel Seidman & Arin Connell

  2. University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

    Elizabeth Stormshak

  3. Oregon Research Institute, Springfield, USA

    Erika Westling

  4. Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

    Thao Ha

  5. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

    Daniel Shaw

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  1. Samuel Seidman
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  2. Arin Connell
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  3. Elizabeth Stormshak
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  4. Erika Westling
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  5. Thao Ha
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  6. Daniel Shaw
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Correspondence to Samuel Seidman.

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Approved by Case Western Reserve University IRB, STUDY20191414. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Seidman, S., Connell, A., Stormshak, E. et al. Disrupting Maternal Transmission of Depression: Using Integrative Data Analysis (IDA) to Examine Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) Across Three Randomized Trials. Prev Sci 24, 1523–1534 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01471-4

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