Biomaterial Database

Family factors in adolescent unipolar depression. 1993

P Marton, and S Maharaj

Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario.

This paper reviews the current literature on the contribution of family factors to unipolar depression among adolescents. Research which examined the following factors was reviewed and evaluated: genetic transmission, parental depression, parental death, quality of attachment and family interaction. Studies had to meet the following criteria to be included: publication must have been between the years 1985 and 1992; the evaluation had to be empirical with some form of control; a dependent measure of family characteristics or functioning; the adolescent had to be between the ages of 13 to 19; and the adolescent had to meet the recognizable criteria for unipolar depression. Recent literature suggests that adolescents suffering from depression share a number of risk factors: a family history of affective disorder, inept or inadequate parenting, abrasive interactions within the family and insecure attachments. At this time, there is no evidence that these aversive interactions predate the disorder. Weaknesses in the current literature are identified and strategies for improving future research are proposed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009769	Object Attachment	Emotional attachment to someone or something in the environment.	Bonding (Psychology),Bonds, Emotional,Emotional Bonds,Object Relations,Symbiotic Relations (Psychology),Bonding, Psychological,Object Relationship,Psychological Bonding,Attachment, Object,Attachments, Object,Bond, Emotional,Bondings (Psychology),Emotional Bond,Object Attachments,Object Relation,Object Relationships,Relation, Object,Relation, Symbiotic (Psychology),Relations, Object,Relations, Symbiotic (Psychology),Relationship, Object,Relationships, Object,Symbiotic Relation (Psychology)
D010287	Parent-Child Relations	The interactions between parent and child.	Parent-Offspring Interaction,Parent Child Relationship,Parent-Child Relationship,Interaction, Parent-Offspring,Parent Child Relations,Parent Child Relationships,Parent Offspring Interaction,Parent-Child Relation,Parent-Child Relationships,Parent-Offspring Interactions,Relation, Parent-Child,Relationship, Parent Child,Relationship, Parent-Child
D010553	Personality Development	Growth of habitual patterns of behavior in childhood and adolescence.	Development, Personality
D003866	Depressive Disorder	An affective disorder manifested by either a dysphoric mood or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The mood disturbance is prominent and relatively persistent.	Depression, Endogenous,Depression, Neurotic,Depression, Unipolar,Depressive Syndrome,Melancholia,Neurosis, Depressive,Unipolar Depression,Depressions, Endogenous,Depressions, Neurotic,Depressions, Unipolar,Depressive Disorders,Depressive Neuroses,Depressive Neurosis,Depressive Syndromes,Disorder, Depressive,Disorders, Depressive,Endogenous Depression,Endogenous Depressions,Melancholias,Neuroses, Depressive,Neurotic Depression,Neurotic Depressions,Syndrome, Depressive,Syndromes, Depressive,Unipolar Depressions
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D001601	Bereavement	Refers to the whole process of grieving and mourning and is associated with a deep sense of loss and sadness.	Bereavements
D012931	Social Environment	The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.	Social Context,Environment, Social,Social Ecology,Context, Social,Contexts, Social,Ecologies, Social,Ecology, Social,Environments, Social,Social Contexts,Social Ecologies,Social Environments
D016241	Child of Impaired Parents	Child with one or more parents afflicted by a physical or mental disorder.	Children of Impaired Parents,Offspring of Impaired Parents,Impaired Parents' Children,Children, Impaired Parents',Impaired Parents Offspring,Impaired Parents Offsprings,Parents Offspring, Impaired,Parents Offsprings, Impaired