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Improved Parent-Child Interactions Predict Reduced Internalizing Symptoms Among the Offspring of Parents with Bipolar

Lisa Serravalle1, Vanessa Iacono1, Alexa L Wilson2

  • 1Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Québec, Montréal, Canada.

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
|February 5, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The RUSH program improved parent-child interactions for offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (OBD). This enhanced interaction quality reduced internalizing symptoms in children six months post-intervention.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychopathology
  • Family Interventions

Background:

  • Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (OBD) have higher rates of psychopathology.
  • Preventative interventions for this high-risk group are critically needed.
  • Parent-child interaction quality is a potential target for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of the 12-week "Reducing Unwanted Stress in the Home" (RUSH) program.
  • To determine if the RUSH program reduces internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children aged 6-11 with OBD.
  • To examine if improvements in parent-child interaction quality mediate symptom reduction.

Main Methods:

  • Quasi-experimental design with an assessment-only control group.
  • 55 offspring (26 OBD, 29 controls) and their parents participated.
  • Assessments of child symptoms and parent-child interaction quality occurred at four time points up to six months post-intervention.

Main Results:

  • The RUSH program significantly improved parental positivity, negativity, and dyadic mutuality immediately and six months post-intervention.
  • Improvements in parental negativity fully mediated the relationship between program participation and reduced parent-reported internalizing problems in OBD children.
  • Children of parents with bipolar disorder demonstrated improved parent-child interactions post-intervention.

Conclusions:

  • The RUSH program shows efficacy in improving parent-child interactions for offspring of parents with bipolar disorder.
  • Intervention-related gains in parent-child interaction quality, particularly reduced parental negativity, are linked to symptom reduction.
  • Further research using randomized controlled trials is recommended to confirm these findings.

Keywords:
Bipolar disorderHigh-risk offspringInternalizing symptomsParent–child interactionsPrevention intervention

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