Vanderbilt University is recruiting local families to take part in a study that is examining ways to help families cope with depression. The study, named the Raising Healthy Children Project, is part of a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study designed to decrease depression among children.
Families with children ages 9-15 and with one or more parents who have suffered an episode of depression during the children’s lifetimes are eligible for this project. Families who participate in the program will learn about the ways that depression can affect their family and also learn ways to cope with and manage depression when parents are struggling with this problem. As part of their participation in the project, participants will receive monetary compensation for interviews that help the research team evaluate the effects of the programs that are being evaluated in the study.
“Depression can make it more difficult to parent consistently and families often find life more stressful when a parent is experiencing depression,” Bruce Compas, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Pediatrics and project director, said. “Many parents worry that this may put their child at risk for depression as well. This study will examine two different ways of helping parents if they become depressed.”
Ten to 15 percent of children will experience an episode of major depression by the age of 15. Research shows that if a parent has suffered from depression, their child is two to three times more likely to have a depressive episode.
Compas is also an investigator in the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development.
To learn more about the study or to sign up, call (615) 322-4081 or e-mail raisinghealthychildren@vanderbilt.edu. More information is also available on the study website, www.raisinghealthychildren.org.
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Media contact: Melanie Moran, (615) 322-NEWS
melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu