Motivation for Change and Depression: An Examination of Factors Related to Weight Loss Outcomes for Overweight Adolescent Girls with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

To enhance the understanding of the role adolescent depression plays between motivation for positive health behavior changes and successful implementation of changes, the current study examined both parent and child self-report of the severity of adolescent depressive symptoms and clinician diagnosed major depressive disorder (MDD) as potential moderators between parent and adolescent readiness to change weight related behaviors at baseline and implemented adolescent behavior change at treatment completion and follow-up. Participants were overweight adolescent girls with an endocrine disorder participating in a psychosocial treatment study (n = 115). Results indicated that parent and child baseline readiness to change positively predicts adolescent change in weight related behaviors from baseline to both treatment completion and follow-up. Moderation analyses revealed that adolescent depression did not affect the relationship between parent and adolescent baseline self-reported stage of change and adolescent change in weight related behaviors from pre- to post-treatment. Findings suggest that among overweight adolescents, parent and child readiness to change at the beginning of treatment is central to positive health behavior changes even withstanding depressive symptoms.