Poster #53 - Effects on Adolescent Risky Behavior by Improving Early Childhood Maternal Depression Using the Family Check-Up

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

According to a 2015 survey, of the 30% of high school students who reported being sexually active, 21% endorsed using substances before intercourse (Kann et al., 2016). In fact, those who use more substances also have more sexual partners (Lowry et al., 1994), increasing risk of STDs and early pregnancy. From developmental and public health perspectives, identifying the precursors of adolescent risky behavior is of paramount importance.
Childhood externalizing problems have been associated with both substance use and sexual risk-taking (Skinner et al., 2017). Additionally, the link between early childhood maternal depression and school-age externalizing problems has been well-established (see Goodman et al., 2011). Taken together, the literature suggests a potential cascading pathway from early maternal depression to school-age externalizing problems, culminating in adolescent risky behaviors.
The Family Check-up (FCU) is a brief, family-centered intervention demonstrated to reduce maternal depression in early childhood, leading to reductions in child problem behavior (Shaw et al. 2009). The current study tested whether the FCU would continue to have cascading effects on risky behavior in adolescence. Specifically, we hypothesized that improvements in maternal depressive symptoms from ages 2 to 3 would predict lower caregiver-reported externalizing behaviors at ages 7.5/8.5, then lower teacher-reported age 14 externalizing behaviors, and finally, fewer substances used and fewer sexual partners at age 16.
Participants were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study (N=731), a randomized clinical trial of the FCU. Families were recruited from WIC programs in three sites based on socioeconomic, family, and/or child risk. Children were ethnically diverse. Data were collected when children were 2, 3, 7.5, 8.5, 14, and 16 years old. Retention for age 16 data collection is reasonably high: 81%.
Depressive symptoms were assessed using maternal reports on the Center for Epidemiological Studies on Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977); externalizing problems were measured at ages 2, 7.5, 8.5 via caregiver reports on the Externalizing factor of the CBCL, and at 14 via the Externalizing factor on the TRF (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). Adolescent risky behavior was measured using two self-reported outcomes at age 16: (1) total number of 15 potential substances the youth had ever used (e.g., nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, opioids) and (2) total number of lifetime sexual partners.
Preliminary analyses were conducted using available data (n=386; 65.5% of target N). Descriptive statistics are presented in Table 1. A path model was tested in Mplus. In addition to replicating the previously published FCU effect on maternal depression at age 3 (β=-12, p < .05; see Figure 1), lower maternal depressive symptoms predicted lower parent-reported externalizing problems at ages 7.5/8.5 (β =.19, p < .01), which predicted lower teacher-rated externalizing behaviors at age 14 (β =.37, p < .01), and fewer substances used (β =.15, p < .01) and fewer sexual partners (β =.20, p < .01) at age 16. Effects were robust when age 16 outcomes were dichotomized to account for zero inflation in preliminary data. Results will be discussed in the context of long-term benefits of intervening in the family context during early childhood.

Authors

• Chelsea Weaver Krug, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Margarita C Caldentey, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melvin N. Wilson, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author