RECOGNIZING THE IMPACT OF MARITAL DISCORD AND PARENTAL DEPRESSION ON CHILDREN - A FAMILY-CENTERED APPROACH

This article is written for pediatricians who wish to enhance their se nsitivity and response to parental relational issues and to understand how these dyadic issues may impact the pediatric patient. This articl e has five goals: (1) to examine how stress in the spousal system impa cts the children in that system; (2) to discuss ways in which children 's stress may present itself in the pediatricians' office; (3) to disc uss the relationship of depression to marital discord and children's s tress; (4) to describe assessment and intervention strategies; and (5) to consider how to build a reliable and collaborative referral base. It is hoped that, after reading this article, the pediatrician will be tter understand the importance of assessing parental relationships and adult depression as contributing factors in the growth and developmen t of children, and that he or she and will feel more comfortable addre ssing these areas in the context of the pediatric office visit.