ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To examine differences between early adolescent girls' and their mothers' perceptions of girls' depressive symptoms. METHODS: 313 daughter-mother dyads completed the Children's Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Low to modest agreement was found for most symptoms, although higher agreement was found for symptoms relating to school performance. The hypothesis that girls would report more ideational symptoms and mothers more behavioral symptoms of depression was tested; girls generally reported more ideational and behavioral symptoms when differences occurred. However, several specific ideational symptoms (feeling like crying; feeling sad; guilt; worrying) tended to be more frequently endorsed by girls and had particularly poor daughter-mother agreement. Examining third variables associated with daughter-mother agreement, girls scoring high on social desirability tended to have smaller daughter-minus-mother difference scores for ideational, but not for behavioral items; therefore, social desirability may be associated with girls underreporting ideational symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers appear to be reliable raters of symptoms related to school functioning, but may be less aware of certain covert depressive symptoms in their early adolescent daughters.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Mothers/psychology , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Psychology, Adolescent , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Child , Female , Humans , Mothers/education , Puberty , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Social Desirability , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To devise and implement a structured intervention for integrating peers into diabetes care in a healthy and adaptive manner. METHODS: Adolescents with diabetes (n = 21) and their best friends (n = 21) participated in a group intervention aimed at increasing diabetes knowledge and social support of diabetes care. Measures of social support, knowledge about diabetes and support, diabetes functioning, and social functioning were obtained prior to and following intervention. RESULTS: Following the intervention, adolescents and their friends demonstrated higher levels of knowledge about diabetes and support, as well as a higher ratio of peer to family support, and friends demonstrated improved self-perception. Parents reported decreased diabetes-related conflict. CONCLUSIONS: Peer group intervention approaches may result in increased positive peer involvement in adolescents' diabetes care.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/psychology , Interpersonal Relations , Peer Group , Psychotherapy, Group , Social Support , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Child , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Patient Compliance/psychology , Personality Inventory , Self Care/psychology , Sick RoleABSTRACT
Examined body image and social adjustment in 21 adolescents who had completed cancer treatment and a healthy comparison group. Subjects completed questionnaires assessing body image and social adjustment and were videotaped during an interview. Raters blind to health status independently rated subjects' attractiveness. Cancer survivors reported less than half as many social activities as the healthy controls. No group differences were found on social anxiety, loneliness, or composite body image scores. However, within the cancer group, adolescents who had been off treatment longer reported lower self-worth, more social anxiety, and more negative body image perceptions, but were not rated as less attractive by observers. Findings suggest body image concerns and social anxiety may not develop until several years after treatment termination.