| The current study examined family functioning, as measured by family environment and parental monitoring, as a mediator of the association between maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms. Specifically, this study tested the following hypotheses: (1) family functioning and monitoring would mediate the relationship between maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms, (2) the association between maternal depressive symptoms and family functioning would be moderated by maternal social support, and (3) the association between family functioning and adolescent depressive symptoms would be moderated by adolescent negative mood regulation. In addition, gender effects were explored. Participants were 8th and 10th grade students enrolled in a longitudinal study of the natural history of cigarette smoking. Measures were collected at baseline and 12 months. Adolescent measures included the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Family Environment Scale (FES) (adolescent report), parental monitoring (adolescent report), and Negative Mood Regulation (NMR). Measures collected from mothers included the Family Environment Scale (FES) (parent report), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL), and parental monitoring (parent report). Regression analyses were used to test hypothesized pathways. Results indicated that family functioning (adolescent report only) mediated the association between maternal to adolescent depressive symptoms. In addition, negative mood regulation moderated the effect of family functioning on adolescent depressive symptoms. Implications of this study suggest the importance of both cognitive and interpersonal approaches in understanding the development of depressive symptoms in adolescents. |
