50-1 Examining protective and resources factors for depression among junior high school students experiencing different levels of family risk
| Hsing-Jung Chen | |
| National Taiwan Normal University |
Severe depression will decrease young people’s social functioning and increase their suicidal behaviors. This is especially true for those who have a parent with an alcohol problem or comorbidity of alcohol and psychiatric problems. Interventions incorporating a risk-reducing approach may not effectively help children of a parent with an alcohol problem or comorbidity of alcohol and psychiatric problems because risks related to alcohol problems such as genetics, mental illness, and chronic life stress are not easy to manage, minimize, or eliminate. Therefore, the knowledge of positive factors of influence is crucial for the advanced development of intervention programs. Unfortunately, although a great number of studies have identified risks related to alcohol problems, only a few studies have focused on positive factors. Few studies clarify which factors have a positive influence across different family risk levels. It is unclear whether the positive factors derived from the research on youths in low-risk families can be effective on youths who have a parent with an alcohol problem or comorbidity of alcohol and psychiatric problems. Based on the resilience perspective, the aim of this research is to investigate what kinds of positive factors can predict depression among junior high school students who come from families with different risk levels. The resource factors are defined as factors that can predict depression for youths experiencing high- and low-risk levels, whereas protective factors are defined as factors that can predict depression for youths experiencing high-risk levels (i.e. having a parent with an alcohol problem or comorbidity of alcohol and psychiatric problems). The junior high school students’ data derived from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey (n=15,999) and the Stata 13.0 statistical software were used for this study. Descriptive statistics for sample characteristics, correlations for variable relationships, cronbach’s alpha for internal reliability, power analysis for detecting effect sizes as well as intra-class correlation analysis for examining the issues of the nested effect were performed before multiple regression analyses. Seven main predictors, along with three control variables (i.e. the first wave of depression, gender, and family financial status), were included in regression models that presented the low-risk family, the family of a parent with an alcohol problem, and the family with comorbidity of alcohol and psychiatric problems. The research has four major findings. (1) Most predictors predict the depression for youths from low-risk families only. (2) Positive individual characteristics, family communication with support, positive reinforcement parenting, school attachment, and sports engagement were negatively associated with depression among low-risk youths. Among those factors, school attachment (B = -.04, p <.001) and family communication with support (B = -.04, p <.001) have the strongest influence on depression. (3) Family supportive communication (B = -.05, p <.05) is the only predictor that significantly predicts depression among youths from families with an alcohol problem. (4) The positive individual characteristic (B = -.23, p <.05) is the only one that significantly predicts depression among youths from families with comorbid alcohol and psychiatric problems. According to the research findings, the implications emphasize the primary prevention of depression through school where Taiwanese youths spend most of their time besides family time. It is important to create a welcoming school environment for every adolescent regardless of their grades and family backgrounds, to provide students with stress-coping training courses, and to encourage students to exercise regularly. Moreover, enhancing services, such as parent-child counseling in Family Education Centers, can help improve family communication with support that further benefits the emotional development of youths regardless of their being in high- or low-risk families.
Keywords
Art, communication with support, comorbidity of alcohol and psychiatric problems, school attachment, sport.
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