Tracy Gladstone, Ph.D.; Sibling Relationships Among Offspring of Depressed Parents
April 19, 2007 (55:49 min.)
Sibling relationship quality has been connected to psychosocial and mental health outcomes in youth, including internalizing and externalizing difficulties, substance abuse, and poor peer relationships. Yet to date, no studies have examined sibling relationships in families with a depressed parent. Given that maladaptive family interactions characterize families with depressed parents and are associated with poor sibling relationships, which are associated with poorer youth outcomes, it follows that sibling relationships in families with a depressed parent also may be impaired. In this presentation, Tracy Gladstone, Ph.D., senior research scientist and director of the Stone Primary Prevention Initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women, discussed data pertaining to sibling relationship quality, parenting, and psychopathology in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents.
