Consistent with previous research (e.g., Compas et al. 2010; Dunbar et al. 2013; Watson et al. 2014), composite variables were created from parent and youth reports of stress related to parental depression, coping, and symptoms of anxiety and depression by converting scores to standardized scores (z-scores) and calculating the mean of the parent and youth z-scores for each variable. Means and standard deviations for youth symptoms of anxiety and depression, youth coping, and total stress related to parental depression were calculated. Bivariate Pearson’s correlations were calculated to examine associations between symptoms, coping, and total stress for both composite and parent and child report. Linear multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which total youth stress related to parental depression and youth coping demonstrate specificity to youth symptoms of anxiety versus depression. The part (semi-partial) correlations were compared using Fisher’s z test to confirm findings from the linear multiple regression analyses for the between-subjects specificity of youth stress and coping to symptoms of anxiety and depression. Because the sample relied on parent depression history in the child’s lifetime, parents’ depressive symptoms at the time of assessment were included as a control in regression analyses.
