(PS5-76) Parent-adolescent Communication: An Actor-partner Interdependence Model

Background. Positive communication between parents and adolescents is important for healthy psychosocial development. Extant literature examining the links between communication and psychopathology is limited by cross-sectional designs, inconsistent definitions of key constructs, and self-report assessments of parent-adolescent communication. In contrast, behavioral observation offers an objective, systematic method for assessing communication. The current study examined longitudinal associations between observed communication and psychopathology among a high-risk sample of youth with parents with a history of depression. Dyadic data analysis methodology was utilized to capture the bi-directional nature of communication.

Methods. Participants were 180 families (M = 11.46 years) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Parents reported a current or past depressive disorder during the lifetime of their child(ren). Communication composite scores for parents and adolescents were created with codes from The Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS; Melby & Conger, 2001) at baseline and six-months post intervention. Youths’ anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed with the Youth Self-Report, and parents’ anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed with the Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Two Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) were implemented utilizing a web-based R analysis program, “APIM_SEM” (Stas et al., 2018). APIM models generate both actor (e.g., parent communication associated with parent psychopathology) and partner (e.g., parent communication associated with adolescent psychopathology) effects. Missing data were handled using full information maximum likelihood.  

Results. Preliminary cross-sectional APIM models evidenced a significant parent actor effect, such that better parent communication was associated with lower parent anxiety/depression symptoms at baseline (b = -0.27, p = .016). There was also a significant parent partner effect, such that greater parent communication was associated with fewer adolescent anxiety/depression symptoms (b = -0.86, p = .01). There were no significant adolescent actor or partner effects (p > .05). Results from a longitudinal APIM model did not find any significant actor or partner effects between baseline communication and six-month anxiety/depression symptoms (ps > .05). However, there were significant actor effects, whereby greater symptoms at baseline predicted greater symptoms at 6-months for both parents (b = 0.50, p < .001) and adolescents (b = 0.47, p < .001). Finally, there was a significant adolescent partner effect, such that greater adolescent symptoms at baseline were associated with fewer parent symptoms at 6-months (b = -0.35, p = .02).

Conclusions. Results suggest significant cross-sectional dyadic associations between parent communication and parent and adolescent anxiety/depression symptoms. Additional research is needed to understand the unexpected longitudinal association between greater adolescent symptoms and fewer parent symptoms.