Developing a personalized self-care curriculum for graduate students in the health sciences

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Pitt Personal Wellness Program, three 1-hour workshops that were integrated into the first-semester curriculum of five health sciences graduate programs. The workshops were designed as a personalized education approach to promote self-care and well-being. Of the 156 graduate students who participated in the Pitt Personal Wellness Program, 99 (65%) completed online questionnaires regarding stress and coping at three time points across a 14 week period: before the program, and after the second and third workshops. Graduate students reported significant decreases in perceived stress and number of stressful situations across the three time points. Students who reported a previous history of mental health counseling demonstrated steeper declines in perceived stress across Times 1 and 2, and reported significantly higher use of coping strategies across the three time points. Racially minoritized students and those reporting more financial struggles also reported significant declines in stress and number of stressors across Times 1 and 2. The Pitt Personal Wellness Program was acceptable to graduate students and a promising program for further dissemination and study.

Assessing Aspects of Social Relationships in Youth Across Middle Childhood and Adolescence: The NIH Toolbox Pediatric Social Relationship Scales

OBJECTIVE

Social relationships are a critical context for children's socioemotional development and their quality is closely linked with concurrent and future physical and emotional wellbeing. However, brief self-report measures of social relationship quality that translate across middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood are lacking, limiting the ability to assess the impact of social relationships on health outcomes over time. To address this gap, this article describes the development and testing of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Pediatric Social Relationship Scales, which were developed in parallel with the previously-reported Adult Social Relationship Scales.

METHODS

Item sets were selected from the NIH Toolbox adult self-report item banks in the domains of social support, companionship, and social distress, and adapted for use in preadolescent (ages 8-11 years) and adolescent (ages 12-18 years) cohorts. Items were tested across a U.S. community sample of 1,038 youth ages 8-18 years. Classical test and item response theory approaches were used to identify items for inclusion in brief unidimensional scales. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing resultant scales to established pediatric social relationship instruments.

RESULTS

Internal reliability and concurrent validity were established for five unique scales, with 5-7 items each: Emotional Support, Friendship, Loneliness, Perceived Rejection, and Perceived Hostility.

CONCLUSIONS

These brief scales represent developmentally appropriate and valid instruments for assessing the quality of youth social relationships across childhood and adolescence. In conjunction with previously published adult scales, they provide an opportunity for prospective assessment of social relationships across the developmental spectrum.

Family-Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy: An Intervention for Preadolescent Depression

Family-based interpersonal psychotherapy (FB-IPT) is an evidence-based psychosocial intervention for depression in preadolescents (ages 8-12 years). Adapted from interpersonal psychotherapy for adolescents with depression and modified for younger children, this therapy includes structured dyadic sessions with preadolescents and their parents, guidance for parents in supporting their children and decreasing negative parent-child interactions, and a focus on preadolescents' comorbid anxiety and peer relationships. This article reviews the conceptual foundations and risk factors related to preadolescent depression and the rationale for focusing on improving preadolescents' interpersonal relationships to decrease depressive symptoms and risk for depression during adolescence. The structure and goals for the initial, middle, and termination phases of FB-IPT are described, as well as the specific communication and problem-solving strategies presented to preadolescents and parents. Last, research on the efficacy of FB-IPT is summarized, as are future directions for implementing this promising psychosocial intervention for preadolescent depression in community settings.

Blood pressure recovery to social stress in parentally bereaved and non-bereaved youths

OBJECTIVE

To examine differences in blood pressure response and recovery in a sample of bereaved and non-bereaved youths during an acute stress task conducted 5 years after time of parental death.

METHODS

One-hundred and ninety-two (n = 192) bereaved and non-bereaved offspring (ages 11-29) participated in an adaptation of the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST) 5-years after the time of parental death. Blood pressure measurements were collected before, during, and after the laboratory stress protocol. Mixed models for repeated measures were used to analyze the effects of bereavement status and course of psychiatric disorder in the 5-year period after parental death in both offspring and caregivers on blood pressure response; linear regression was used to examine these associations with blood pressure recovery.

RESULTS

Although there were no differences across groups in diastolic (DBP) or systolic blood pressure (SBP) response to stress, bereaved offspring demonstrated less SBP recovery to the TSST as compared to non-bereaved offspring. A significant interaction between bereavement status and race, and a marginally significant interaction between bereavement status and sex indicated poor SBP recovery for parentally bereaved racial/ethnic minority offspring as compared to parentally bereaved Caucasian offspring, and for parentally bereaved males compared to parentally bereaved females.

CONCLUSIONS

Parentally bereaved youths demonstrate blood pressure response to social stress tasks similar to that of non-bereaved youths, but parentally bereaved ethnic/racial minority youths and parentally bereaved males evidence a less complete recovery from the effects of stress. The health consequences of poor blood pressure recovery in bereaved youths are discussed.

A randomized, comparative pilot trial of family-based interpersonal psychotherapy for reducing psychosocial symptoms, disordered-eating, and excess weight gain in at-risk preadolescents with loss-of-control-eating

OBJECTIVE

Preadolescent loss-of-control-eating (LOC-eating) is a risk factor for excess weight gain and binge-eating-disorder. We evaluated feasibility and acceptability of a preventive family-based interpersonal psychotherapy (FB-IPT) program. FB-IPT was compared to family-based health education (FB-HE) to evaluate changes in children's psychosocial functioning, LOC-eating, and body mass.

METHOD

A randomized, controlled pilot trial was conducted with 29 children, 8 to 13 years who had overweight/obesity and LOC-eating. Youth-parent dyads were randomized to 12-week FB-IPT (n = 15) or FB-HE (n = 14) and evaluated at post-treatment, six-months, and one-year. Changes in child psychosocial functioning, LOC-eating, BMI, and adiposity by dual-energy-X-ray-absorptiometry were assessed. Missing follow-up data were multiply imputed.

RESULTS

FB-IPT feasibility and acceptability were indicated by good attendance (83%) and perceived benefits to social interactions and eating. Follow-up assessments were completed by 73% FB-IPT and 86% FB-HE at post-treatment, 60% and 64% at six-months, and 47% and 57% at one-year. At post-treatment, children in FB-IPT reported greater decreases in depression (95% CI -7.23, -2.01, Cohen's d = 1.23) and anxiety (95% CI -6.08, -0.70, Cohen's d = .79) and less odds of LOC-eating (95% CI -3.93, -0.03, Cohen's d = .38) than FB-HE. At six-months, children in FB-IPT had greater reductions in disordered-eating attitudes (95% CI -0.72, -0.05, Cohen's d = .66) and at one-year, tended to have greater decreases in depressive symptoms (95% CI -8.82, 0.44, Cohen's d = .69) than FB-HE. There was no difference in BMI gain between the groups.

DISCUSSION

Family-based approaches that address interpersonal and emotional underpinnings of LOC-eating in preadolescents with overweight/obesity show preliminary promise, particularly for reducing internalizing symptoms. Whether observed psychological benefits translate into sustained prevention of disordered-eating or excess weight gain requires further study.

Family-based interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed preadolescents: examining efficacy and potential treatment mechanisms

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of family-based interpersonal psychotherapy (FB-IPT) for treating depression in preadolescents (aged 7-12 years) as compared to child-centered therapy (CCT), a supportive and nondirective treatment that closely approximates the standard of care for pediatric depression in community mental health.

METHOD

Preadolescents with depression (N = 42) were randomly assigned FB-IPT or CCT. Pre- and posttreatment assessments included clinician-administered measures of depression, parent- and child-reported depression and anxiety symptoms, and parent-child conflict and interpersonal impairment with peers.

RESULTS

Preadolescents receiving FB-IPT had higher rates of remission (66.0% versus 31%), a greater decrease in depressive symptoms from pre- to posttreatment, and lower depressive symptoms at posttreatment (R(2) = 0.35, ΔR(2) = 0.22; B = -8.15, SE = 2.61, t[37] = -3.13, p = .002, F(2) = 0.28) than did preadolescents with depression receiving CCT. Furthermore, preadolescents in the FB-IPT condition reported significant reductions in anxiety and interpersonal impairment compared with preadolescents in the CCT condition. Changes in social and peer impairment from pre- to posttreatment were associated with preadolescents' posttreatment depressive symptoms. There was a significant indirect effect for decreased social impairment accounting for the association between the FB-IPT and preadolescents' posttreatment depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Findings indicate FB-IPT is an effective treatment for preadolescent depression and support further investigation of interpersonal mechanisms by which FB-IPT may reduce preadolescent depression. Clinical trial registration information-Phase II Study of Family Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) for Depressed Preadolescents; http://clinicaltrials.gov; NCT02054312.

Social problem solving among depressed adolescents is enhanced by structured psychotherapies

OBJECTIVE

Changes in adolescent interpersonal behavior before and after an acute course of psychotherapy were investigated as outcomes and mediators of remission status in a previously described treatment study of depressed adolescents. Maternal depressive symptoms were examined as moderators of the association between psychotherapy condition and changes in adolescents' interpersonal behavior.

METHOD

Adolescents (n = 63, mean age = 15.6 years, 77.8% female, 84.1% White) engaged in videotaped interactions with their mothers before randomization to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), systemic behavior family therapy (SBFT), or nondirective supportive therapy (NST) and after 12-16 weeks of treatment. Adolescent involvement, problem solving, and dyadic conflict were examined.

RESULTS

Improvements in adolescent problem solving were significantly associated with CBT and SBFT. Maternal depressive symptoms moderated the effect of CBT, but not SBFT, on adolescents' problem solving; adolescents experienced increases in problem solving only when their mothers had low or moderate levels of depressive symptoms. Improvements in adolescents' problem solving were associated with higher rates of remission across treatment conditions, but there were no significant indirect effects of SBFT on remission status through problem solving. Exploratory analyses revealed a significant indirect effect of CBT on remission status through changes in adolescent problem solving, but only when maternal depressive symptoms at study entry were low.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide preliminary support for problem solving as an active treatment component of structured psychotherapies for depressed adolescents and suggest one pathway by which maternal depression may disrupt treatment efficacy for depressed adolescents treated with CBT.

A prospective study of parentally bereaved youth, caregiver depression, and body mass index

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) in bereaved youth and nonbereaved controls 5 years after a parent's death. The study was conducted from August 9, 2002, through December 31, 2013.

DESIGN

A prospective, longitudinal, controlled study of the effects of sudden parental death on youth.

SETTING

Bereaved families were recruited through coroner records and by advertisement. Nonbereaved families were recruited using random-digit dialing and by advertisement.

PARTICIPANTS

123 parentally bereaved offspring were compared with 122 nonbereaved control offspring, all of whom were aged 11-25 years at the 5-year assessment.

MAIN EXPOSURE

Bereavement status, type of parental death (accident, suicide, or sudden natural death), and history of depression in caregivers prior to parental death.

OUTCOME MEASURES

BMI categories (normal, overweight, and obese), according to International Obesity Task Force guidelines for adults and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for children, and DSM-IV psychiatric disorder in offspring and caregivers before and after time of parental death.

RESULTS

Bereaved offspring were more likely to have a BMI in the obese range compared to nonbereaved controls (χ2(2) = 7.13, P < .01). There were no differences in BMI category by death type among bereaved offspring. Caregiver history of depression was a significant correlate of offspring obesity in nonbereaved youth but had a protective effect on the BMI of bereaved youth.

CONCLUSIONS

Bereaved youth were more likely to be obese than nonbereaved youth 5 years after parental death, and caregiver history of depression was associated with increased risk for obesity in nonbereaved youth only. Future studies are necessary to identify mechanisms that increase risk for obesity in parentally bereaved youth.

Cortisol response to social stress in parentally bereaved youth

BACKGROUND

Parental bereavement is associated with increased risk for psychiatric illness and functional impairment in youth. Dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning may be one pathway through which bereaved children experience increased risk for poor outcomes. However, few studies have prospectively examined the association between parental bereavement and cortisol response while accounting for psychiatric disorders in both youth and their caregivers.

METHODS

One-hundred and eighty-one bereaved and nonbereaved offspring and their caregivers were assessed at multiple time points over a 5-year period after parental death. Offspring participated in an adaptation of the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), and salivary cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to social stressors. Mixed models for repeated measures were used to analyze the effects of bereavement status, psychiatric disorder in both offspring and caregiver, and demographic indices on trajectories of cortisol response.

RESULTS

After controlling for demographic variables and offspring depression, bereaved offspring demonstrated significantly different trajectories of cortisol response compared with nonbereaved offspring, characterized by higher total cortisol output and an absence of cortisol reactivity to acute social stress. Within the bereaved group, offspring of parents who died by sudden natural death demonstrated significant cortisol reactivity to social stress compared with offspring whose parents died by suicide, who demonstrated more blunted trajectory of cortisol response.

CONCLUSIONS

Parentally bereaved youth demonstrate higher cortisol output than nonbereaved youth but are less able to mount an acute response in the face of social stressors.

Anhedonia predicts poorer recovery among youth with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment-resistant depression

OBJECTIVE

To identify symptom dimensions of depression that predict recovery among selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment-resistant adolescents undergoing second-step treatment.

METHOD

The Treatment of Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) trial included 334 SSRI treatment-resistant youth randomized to a medication switch, or a medication switch plus CBT. This study examined five established symptom dimensions (Child Depression Rating Scale-Revised) at baseline as they predicted recovery over 24 weeks of acute and continuation treatment. The two indices of recovery that were evaluated were time to remission and number of depression-free days.

RESULTS

Multivariate analyses examining all five depression symptom dimensions simultaneously indicated that anhedonia was the only dimension to predict a longer time to remission, and also the only dimension to predict fewer depression-free days. In addition, when anhedonia and CDRS-total score were evaluated simultaneously, anhedonia continued to uniquely predict longer time to remission and fewer depression-free days.

CONCLUSIONS

Anhedonia may represent an important negative prognostic indicator among treatment-resistant depressed adolescents. Further research is needed to elucidate neurobehavioral underpinnings of anhedonia, and to test treatments that target anhedonia in the context of overall treatment of depression.

Suicidality and depression disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual youth: a meta-analytic review

PURPOSE

To examine disparities between sexual minority youth (SMY) and heterosexual youth in rates of suicidality and depression symptoms.

METHODS

Separate meta-analyses were conducted to examine suicidality and depression disparities. Studies were included if the average age of the participants was <18 years, and if suicidality or depression symptoms were compared across SMY and heterosexual youth.

RESULTS

SMY reported significantly higher rates of suicidality (odds ratio [OR] = 2.92) and depression symptoms (standardized mean difference, d = .33) as compared with the heterosexual youth. Disparities increased with the increase in the severity of suicidality (ideation [OR = 1.96], intent/plans [OR = 2.20], suicide attempts [OR = 3.18], suicide attempts requiring medical attention [OR = 4.17]). Effects did not vary across gender, recruitment source, and sexual orientation definition.

CONCLUSIONS

Disparities in suicidality and depression may be influenced by negative experiences including discrimination and victimization. Clinicians should assess sexual orientation, analyze psychosocial histories to identify associated risk factors, and promote prevention and intervention opportunities for SMY and their families.

Depressive symptoms and subclinical markers of cardiovascular disease in adolescents

PURPOSE

To examine the association between depressive symptoms and subclinical markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD), specifically arterial stiffness, as indexed by pulse wave velocity (PWV), and carotid artery intima media thickening (IMT), in a sample of healthy adolescents, and to explore adolescent hostility as a potential moderator of depression on subclinical markers of CVD.

METHODS

One hundred fifty-seven (n = 157) black and white adolescents between the ages of 16-21 completed a follow-up study of psychosocial stress and cardiovascular risk factors that included measures of PWV and carotid IMT. Psychosocial measures included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (divided into tertiles), and the Cook-Medley Hostility Inventory subscales. Linear regression models controlled for sociodemographic variables, health behaviors, blood pressure, body mass index, and heart rate.

RESULTS

Results show that more severe depressive symptoms were associated with higher levels of PWV (B = .17, R(2) = .30, ΔR(2) = .03, confidence interval = 2.2-47.0, p = .03) but not with higher IMT. Adolescent depression remained a significant predictor of PWV when controlling for adolescent hostility; hostility did not moderate the relationship between adolescent depression and PWV.

CONCLUSION

Depression may be important in the development of arterial stiffness in adolescence. Further research is needed to delineate the relationship in adolescence and young adulthood between depressive symptoms and the pathogenesis of CVD.

Expressed emotion in mothers of currently depressed, remitted, high-risk, and low-risk youth: links to child depression status and longitudinal course

This study examined expressed emotion in the families of children and adolescents who were (a) in a current episode of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), (b) in remission from a past episode of MDD, (c) at high familial risk for developing MDD, and (d) low-risk controls. Participants were 109 mother-child dyads (children ages 8-19). Expressed emotion was assessed using the Five Minute Speech Sample, and psychiatric follow-ups were conducted annually. Mothers of children with a current or remitted episode of MDD and at high risk for MDD were more likely to be rated high on criticism than mothers of controls. There were no differences in critical expressed emotion among mothers of children in the current, remitted, or high-risk for depression groups. Higher initial critical expressed emotion was associated with a greater likelihood of having a future onset of a depressive episode in high-risk and depressed participants. Diagnostic groups did not differ in Emotional Overinvolvement.

Maternal depression, paternal psychopathology, and toddlers' behavior problems

This article examined the effects of maternal depression during the postpartum period (Time 1) on the later behavior problems of toddlers (Time 3) and tested if this relationship was moderated by paternal psychopathology during toddlers' lives and/or mediated by maternal parenting behavior observed during mother-child interaction (Time 2). Of the 101 mothers who participated in this longitudinal study with their toddlers, 51 had never experienced an episode of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 50 had experienced an episode of MDD during the first 18 months of their toddlers' lives. Maternal depression at Time 1 was significantly associated with toddlers' externalizing and internalizing behavior problems only when paternal psychopathology was present. As predicted, maternal negativity at Time 2 was found to mediate the relationship between maternal depression at Time 1 and toddlers' externalizing behavior problems at Time 3.

Family-based interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed preadolescents: an open-treatment trial

AIM

To conduct an open-treatment trial to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and clinical outcomes of using a family-based adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents with a sample of preadolescents (ages 9-12) presenting for outpatient treatment for depression.

METHODS

Sixteen preadolescents who met criteria for a depressive disorder according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition participated in this open-treatment trial of family-based interpersonal psychotherapy (FB-IPT). Parents chose whether their preadolescents should receive FB-IPT only (n = 10) or FB-IPT with antidepressant medication (n = 6). Pre- and post-treatment assessments included clinician-administered measures of depression and global functioning, and parent- and child-reported anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

FB-IPT was associated with high treatment compliance rates (88%) and was associated with significant decreases in preadolescents' depressive and anxiety symptoms. Preadolescents who received FB-IPT only were as likely as those receiving FB-IPT and medication to have significant reductions in depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, and to experience significant improvement in global functioning. Parents were more likely to choose combination treatment when their depressed preadolescents had a comorbid anxiety disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Further research on FB-IPT is needed to establish its efficacy as compared with usual outpatient treatment, its ability to be disseminated to child clinicians with varying levels of training and in adequately powered randomized controlled trials that can detect group differences.

Social skill in self-assertive strategies of toddlers with depressed and nondepressed mothers

The authors examined the effects of maternal depression on the skillfulness of toddlers' self-assertive strategies in interactions with their mother and with a female examiner. The participants were 110 mothers and their 26-month-old toddlers. Of these mothers, 57 had experienced an episode of clinical depression sometime since their child's birth, and 53 had had no history of depression. Toddlers exposed to maternal depression demonstrated significantly less social skill in their self-assertive strategies and more defiance when interacting with their mothers than did toddlers who were never exposed to maternal depression. The chronicity and severity of toddlers' exposure to maternal depression did not account for more pronounced differences in toddlers' skill in self-assertion toward mothers; however, toddlers exposed to more chronic courses of depression demonstrated less skill in their self-assertion toward the examiner. Toddlers who were exposed to maternal depression with a comorbid anxiety disorder did not exhibit less skill in their self-assertion toward mothers than did toddlers in either the depression-only or nondepressed groups. These findings suggest that exposure to maternal depression may interfere with toddlers' development of socially competent self-assertion strategies and may pose risks for future problems in the mother-toddler relationship.

Volumetric capillary cytometry: a new method for absolute cell enumeration

This article describes a novel cytometry system that is capable of imaging, identifying, and counting populations of fluorescently labeled cells within a precisely known volume of unlysed whole blood contained in a precision capillary. The whole blood is reacted with dye-labeled antibodies directed at cell surface antigens. A red excitation source (helium-neon laser) is used to minimize auto-fluorescence and interference by blood components. A two-color fluorescence detection system is described, using the dyes Cy5 and Cy5.5, allowing the simultaneous detection and quantitation of two different types of surface antigens. Image processing techniques are used to identify cellular events in the image and to quantitate the fluorescent intensities in both color planes. The utility of this technique is demonstrated by performing absolute CD3+/CD4+ lymphocyte counts in whole blood, with minimal sample preparation, and with the blood sample completely contained in a disposable cartridge. A correlation study comparing this technique to flow cytometry gives a correlation coefficient of 0.98. In addition, the ability of this system to monitor reaction kinetics is demonstrated with a measurement of the rate of association of the anti-CD4 antibody onto the surface of CD4+ lymphocytes.