Janet U Schneiderman1, Abigail Palmer Molina2, Ferol E Mennen2, Sonya Negriff3. 1. Nursing Department, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0411, USA. juschnei@usc.edu. 2. Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0411, USA. 3. Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, 100 South Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101-2453, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To explore how caregivers' (birth parents, adoptive parents, relative caregivers, and unrelated caregivers) depressive symptoms moderate the concordance between their and their youth's assessment of the youth's physical health symptoms, diseases, and physical health status. METHODS: Participants included 224 youth with mean age of 18.0 years (SD = 1.3) and their caregivers. Multiple-group models were run to test whether caregiver depression status moderated the concordance between youth and caregiver report of physical health outcomes. Models compared caregivers above the mean for depression in the sample (n = 62) with caregivers below the mean for depression in this sample (n = 128). RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between youth and caregiver report of pain in the last 30 days and physical health status in the caregiver group with no/fewer depressive symptoms [r (128) = 0.29, p = 0.04; r (128) = 0.59, p < 0.01], but no significant correlation between the two in the caregiver group with higher depressive symptoms [r (62) = - 0.27, p = 0.27; r (62) = - 0.14, p = 0.57]. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Higher caregiver depressive symptoms was associated with worse concordance between caregiver and youth assessment of the youth's pain and physical health status. These two health issues are less visible and more subjective and communication between caregiver and youth may be affected by the caregiver's depressive symptoms. Since both caregiver and youth assessments of a youth's physical health provide the best clinical data, it may be helpful for health providers to assess caregiver's mental health status to provide a more complete picture.
OBJECTIVES: To explore how caregivers' (birth parents, adoptive parents, relative caregivers, and unrelated caregivers) depressive symptoms moderate the concordance between their and their youth's assessment of the youth's physical health symptoms, diseases, and physical health status. METHODS: Participants included 224 youth with mean age of 18.0 years (SD = 1.3) and their caregivers. Multiple-group models were run to test whether caregiver depression status moderated the concordance between youth and caregiver report of physical health outcomes. Models compared caregivers above the mean for depression in the sample (n = 62) with caregivers below the mean for depression in this sample (n = 128). RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between youth and caregiver report of pain in the last 30 days and physical health status in the caregiver group with no/fewer depressive symptoms [r (128) = 0.29, p = 0.04; r (128) = 0.59, p < 0.01], but no significant correlation between the two in the caregiver group with higher depressive symptoms [r (62) = - 0.27, p = 0.27; r (62) = - 0.14, p = 0.57]. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Higher caregiver depressive symptoms was associated with worse concordance between caregiver and youth assessment of the youth's pain and physical health status. These two health issues are less visible and more subjective and communication between caregiver and youth may be affected by the caregiver's depressive symptoms. Since both caregiver and youth assessments of a youth's physical health provide the best clinical data, it may be helpful for health providers to assess caregiver's mental health status to provide a more complete picture.