The influence of caregiver depressive symptoms on proxy report of youth depressive symptoms: a test of the depression-distortion hypothesis in pediatric type 1 diabetes

Objective To test the depression-distortion hypothesis in pediatric type 1 diabetes. Methods In a sample of 187 youth with type 1 diabetes, caregivers completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale and the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI): parent proxy report. Youth completed the CDI. To test whether caregiver depressive symptoms (CES-D) moderated the proxy report of youth depressive symptoms (CDI:P), the CDI, CES-D, and their interactions were entered as predictors in to a regression analysis. Results The regression was significant, F (8,178) 9.26, p <.0001, R2 .29, and all three variables were significant predictors. Post-hoc probing of the interaction showed that caregivers with high CES-D scores reported high levels of youth depressive symptoms at both high and low levels of youth-reported depressive symptoms. In contrast, caregivers with low CES-D scores reported similar levels as the youth. Conclusions These results support the depression-distortion hypothesis in a pediatric chronic disease sample. Key words caregivers; depression; depression-distortion; proxy; type 1 diabetes. There is a well-documented association between the psy-chological functioning of caregivers and the development of the child. For example, the presence of depression in a caregiver can increase the risk of academic, social, and emotional difficulties in the child (Cicchetti, Rogosch, &amp