Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns of Psychopathology in the Families of Children with Conduct Problems, Depression, and both Psychiatric Conditions

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Comorbid conduct problems (CPs) and depression are observed far more often than expected by chance, which is perplexing given minimal symptom overlap. In this study, relations between parental psychopathology and children’s diagnostic status were evaluated to test competing theories of comorbidity. Participants included 180 families with an 8–12-year-old child diagnosed with CPs, depression, both conditions, or neither condition. Although no single theory of comorbidity was supported fully, evidence suggested that CPs and depression may be inherited separately. Paternal antisocial characteristics and maternal depression provided independent prediction of both child depression and CPs. However, paternal antisocial behavior moderated the effect of maternal depression on CPs. For children with antisocial fathers, CPs were observed regardless of maternal depression levels. In contrast, a strong relation was observed between CPs and maternal depression for children without antisocial fathers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991) Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed. Text revision). Washington, DC: Author.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (1993). Depressive comorbidity in children and adolescents: Empirical, theoretical, and methodological issues. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 1779–1791.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Erkanli, A. (1999). Comorbidity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 57–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., Erkanli, A., & Worthman, C. M. (1999). Pubertal changes in hormone levels and depression in girls. Psychological Medicine, 29, 1043–1053.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., & Rutter, M. (1992). Effects of age and pubertal status on depression in a large clinical sample. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 5–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnow, S., Lucht, M., & Freyberger, H. J. (2005). Conduct problems in adolescence. Aggressive behavior, 31, 24–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchaine, T. P. (2003). Taxometrics and developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 501–527.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchaine, T. P., & Marsh, P. (2006). Taxometric methods: Enhancing early detection and prevention of psychopathology by identifying latent vulnerability traits. In D. Cicchetti & D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental Psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 931–967). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biederman, J., Faraone, S. V., Keenan, K., & Tsuang, M. T. (1991). Evidence of familial association between attention deficit disorder and major affective disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 633–642.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, H. R., Gould, M. S., & Staghezza, B. M. (1993). Patterns of diagnostic comorbidity in a community sample of children aged 9 through 16 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 361–368.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, M. H., & Pickles, A. R. (1997). Influence of maternal depressive symptoms on ratings of childhood behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 25, 399–412.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brady, E. U., & Kendall, P. C. (1992). Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 244–255.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, P. A., Hammen, C., Andersen, M. J., Bor, W., Najman, J. M., & Williams, G. M. (2000). Chronicity, severity, and timing of maternal depressive symptoms: Relationships with child outcomes at age 5. Developmental Psychology, 36, 759–766.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M. (1991). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: I. Familial factors and general adjustment at Grade 6. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 277–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chi, T. C., & Hinshaw, S. P. (2002). Mother-child relationships of children with ADHD: The role of maternal depressive symptoms and depression-related distortions. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 387–400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chronis, A. M., Lahey, B. B., Pelham, W. E., Kipp, H. L., Baumann, B. L., & Lee, S. S. (2003). Psychopathology and substance abuse in parents of young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 1424–1432.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cloninger, C. R. (1990). Comorbidity of anxiety and depression. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 10, 43S–46S.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, S. K., Klein, D. N., Riso, L. P., & Schwartz, J. E. (1997). Comorbidity between dysthymic and major depressive disorders: A family study analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 42, 103–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drabick, D. A. G., Beauchaine, T. P., Gadow, K. D., Carlson, G. A., & Bromet, E. J. (2006). Risk factors for conduct problems and depressive symptoms in a cohort of Ukrainian children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 244–252.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A. (2003). Epidemiology and comorbidity. In C. A. Essau (Ed.), Conduct and oppositional defiant disorders: Epidemiology, risk factors, and treatment (pp. 33–59). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frick, P. J., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Christ, M. A., & Hanson, K. (1992). Familial risk factors to oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder: Parental psychopathology and maternal parenting. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 49–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gadow, K. D., & Sprafkin, J. (1997). Child symptom inventory 4 norms manual. Stony Brook, New York: Checkmate Plus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garber, J., Quiggle, N. L., Panak, W., & Dodge, K. A. (1991). Aggression and depression in children: comorbidity, specificity, and social cognitive processing. In D. Cicchetti, & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Internalizing and externalizing expressions of dysfunction. Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 2, pp. 225–264). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

  • Glaser, K. (1967). Masked depression in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 21, 565–574.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (1999). Development of gender differences in depression: Description and possible explanations. Annals of Medicine, 31, 372–379.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Judd, L. L., Akiskal, H. S., Zeller, P. J., Paulus, M., Leon, A. C., Maser, J. D., et al. (2005). Psychosocial disability during the long-term course of unipolar major depressive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 375–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keiley, M. K., Lofthouse, N., Bates, J. E., Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). Differential risks of covarying and pure components in mother and teacher reports of externalizing and internalizing behavior across ages 5 to 14. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 267–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C. (2003). Epidemiology of women and depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 74, 5–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim-Cohen, J., Moffitt, T. E., Taylor, A., Pawlby, S. J., & Caspi, A. (2005). Maternal depression and children’s antisocial behavior. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 173–181.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, D. N., Lewinsohn, P. M., Rhode, P., Seeley, J. R., & Shankman, S. A. (2003). Family study of co-morbidity between major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders. Psychological Medicine, 33, 703–714.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, D. N., & Riso, L. P. (1993). Psychiatric disorders: Problems of boundaries and comorbidity. In C. G. Costello (Ed.), Basic issues in psychopathology (pp. 19–66). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M., Paulauskas, S., Gatsonis, C., & Richards, C. (1988). Depressive disorders in childhood III. A longitudinal study of comorbidity with and risk for conduct disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 15, 205–217.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, R. F., Hicks, B. M., Patrick, C. J., Carlson, S. R., Iacono, W. G., & McGue, M. (2002). Etiologic connections among substance dependence, antisocial behavior, and personality: Modeling the externalizing spectrum. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 411–424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lahey, B.B., Loeber, R., Burke, J., Rathouz, P.J., & McBurnett, K. (2002). Waxing and waning in concert: Dynamic comorbidity of conduct disorder with other disruptive and emotional problems over 7 years among clinic-referred boys. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 556–567.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., & Hops, H. (1991). Comorbidity of unipolar depression: I. Major depression with dysthymia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 205–213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Shankman, S. A., Gau, J. M., & Klein, D. N. (2004). The prevalence and co-morbidity of subthreshold psychiatric conditions. Psychological Medicine, 34, 613–622.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, S. O. (2003). Comorbidity between and within childhood externalizing and internalizing disorders: Reflections and directions. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 285–291.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, S. O., Waldman, I. D., & Israel, A. C. (1994). A critical examination of the use of the term and concept of comorbidity in psychopathology research. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 1, 71–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Keenan, K. (1994). Interaction between conduct disorder and its comorbid conditions: Effects of age and gender. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 497–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCallum, R. C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K. J., & Rucker, D. D. (2002). On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables. Psychological Methods, 7, 19–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marmorstein, N. R., & Iacono, W. G. (2004). Major depression and conduct disorder in youth: associations with parental psychopathology and parent-child conflict. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 377–386.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marmorstein, N. R., Malone, S. M., & Iacono, W. G. (2004). Psychiatric disorders among offspring of depressed mothers: Associations with paternal psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1588–1594.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, M. E. (1992). Family Interview for Genetic Studies. Clinical Neurogenetic Branch, Intramural Research Program, NIMH.

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E. (2005). A new look at behavioral genetics in developmental psychopathology: Gene-environment interplay in antisocial behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 533–554.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., & Rutter, M. (2006). Measured gene-environment interactions in psychopathology: Concepts, research strategies, and implications for research, intervention, and public understanding of genetics. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 5–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mun, E. Y., Fiztgerald, H. E., Von Eye, A., Puttler, L. I., & Zucker, R. A. (2001). Temperament characteristics as predictors of externalizing and internalizing child behavior problems in the contexts of high and low parental psychopathology. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22, 393–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadder, T. S., Rutter, M., Silberg, J. L., Maes, H. H., & Leaves, L. J. (2002). Genetic effects on the variation and covariation of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional-defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) symptomatologies across informant and occasion of measurement. Psychological Medicine, 32, 39–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 424–443.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, T. G., McGuire, S., Reiss, D., Hetherington, E. M., & Plomin, R. (1998). Co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior in adolescence: A common genetic liability. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 27–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfiffner, L. J., McBurnett, K., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Green, S., Frick, P. J. et al.,(1999). Association of parental psychopathology to the comorbid disorders of boys with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 881–893.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfiffner, L. J., McBurnett, K., & Rathouz, P. J. (2001). Father absences and familial antisocial characteristics. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 357–367.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puig-Antich, J. (1982). Major depression and conduct disorder in prepuberty. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 21, 118–128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., Giller, H., & Hagell, A. (1998). The role of individual features. In Antisocial behavior by young people (pp. 127–165). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonoff, E., Pickles, A., Meyer, J.M., Silberg, J., Maes, H. H., Loeber, R., et al. (1997). The Virginia twin study of adolescent behavioral development: Influence of age, sex, and impairment on rates of disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 801–808.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, J., Cramer, A., Afrank, J., & Patterson, G. R. (2005). The contributions of ineffective discipline and parental hostile attributions of child misbehavior to the development of conduct problems at home and school. Developmental Psychology, 41, 30–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., Gibbon, M., & First, M. B. (1992). The structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) I: History, rationale, and description. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 624–629.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberry, T. P., Smith, C. A., & Howard, G. J. (1997). Risk factors for teenage fatherhood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 505–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Public Health Service (2000). Report of the Surgeon General’s conference on children’s mental health: A national action agenda. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Weiss, B., & Nurcombe, B. (1992). Age, clinical severity, and the differentiation of depressive psychopathology: A test of the orthogenetic hypothesis. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 113– 124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weissman, M. W., Wickramaratne, P., Nomura, Y., Warner, V., Verdeli, H., Pilowsky, et al. (2005). Families at high and low risk for depression: A 3-generation study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 29–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195-1525, USA

    Lisa M. Kopp & Theodore P. Beauchaine

Authors
  1. Lisa M. Kopp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Theodore P. Beauchaine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kopp, L.M., Beauchaine, T.P. Patterns of Psychopathology in the Families of Children with Conduct Problems, Depression, and both Psychiatric Conditions. J Abnorm Child Psychol 35, 301–312 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9091-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9091-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation