Examining African American Adolescent Depression in a Community Sample: The Impact of Parent/Child Agreement

This study examined rater congruence and discrepancies in African American parent–adolescent reports of emotional concerns, behavioral functioning and depression. Using parent child reports of functioning from the ASEBA CBCL and YSR self-report instruments, and clinician rated depression via the CDRS-R, the team examined baseline data from a non-clinical community sample of 35 African American parent–youth dyads. Data suggest that discordance in parent–youth dyad reporting on perceptions of adolescent behaviors and emotions is a helpful factor in predicting depression in African American adolescents. Additionally, the research team identified moderate to strong correlations between clinician-rated and adolescent-rated depression. These data provide a novel examination of the potential significance of parent–adolescent congruence and discrepancies in reporting on youth emotional and behavioral states and its significance for assessing depressive symptoms in teens.