EXAMINATION OF CHILDRENS RESPONSES TO 2 PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES OVER TIME

Objective: To examine long-term effects of two forms of preventive int ervention designed to increase families' understanding of parental aff ective disorder and to prevent depression in children. Method: Thirty- six families who had a nondepressed child between ages 8 and 15 years and a parent who had experienced affective disorder were enrolled and randomly assigned to either a clinician-facilitated intervention or a lecture discussion group. Each parent and child were assessed prior to randomization, after intervention, and approximately 11/2 years after enrollment. Assessments included standard diagnostic interviews, meas ures of child and family functioning, and interviews about experience of parental affective disorder and intervention effects. Results: Chil dren in the clinician-facilitated group reported greater understanding of parental affective disorder, as rated by self-report, rater-genera ted scales, and parent report, and had better adaptive functioning aft er intervention. Parents in the clinician-facilitated intervention gro up reported significantly more change. Conclusion: Findings from both interventions support the value of a future-oriented resiliency-based approach. The greater effects of the clinician-facilitate intervention support the need for linking cognitive information to families' life experience and involving children directly in order to achieve long-te rm effects.