Caretaking Behaviors and Stress Reactivity in Adolescents of Depressed Parents
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Vanderbilt University
Abstract
The mechanisms of stress responses “fight or flight” and “tend and befriend” were used to define the stress response to parental depression. In a sample of 180 families of parents with a history of major depressive disorder, observed and reported caretaking behaviors and levels of stress-reactivity were examined. The association of children’s emotional and instrumental caretaking behaviors with levels of physiological and emotional stress response will be identified.
Description
This study was designed to explore the correlates of stress reactivity and caretaking behaviors in an at-risk sample of children living with a parent who has experienced at least one episode of major depressive disorder during the lifetime of his or her child. This thesis was written to satisfy the requirements of PSY 2990: Honors Psychology Research under Craig Smith.
Keywords
Caretaking, stress reactivity, adolescent depressive symptoms