Abstract
This project is a descriptive, quantitative, secondary data analysis. The original dataset was provided by Dr. Brandi Hawk and Dr. Susan Timmer from the University of California (UC), Davis Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource and Evaluation (CAARE) Diagnostic and Treatment Center. This study analyzes the relationship between caregiver depression symptoms and the impact on their child’s success in Parent-Child Care (PC-CARE) therapy. The original study had 49 participants complete PC-CARE treatment. This project analyzed the data from 29 participants from the original study, as 20 participants had missing data due to incompleteness of the measures. Participants (N=29) completed pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments on caregiver depression and stress, and child externalizing behaviors and adaptive skills. The differences in post-treatment scores from pre-treatment scores were analyzed in this project to identify the impact, if any, of caregiver depression levels on PC-CARE treatment success. Multiple Friedman tests were conducted to determine the relationship between caregiver depression and PC-CARE treatment success. The analysis shows a statistically significant relationship between caregiver depression and PC-CARE treatment success, as is measured by decreases in caregiver stress and child externalizing behaviors and increases in child adaptive skills after receiving PC-CARE therapy. These findings suggest that PC-CARE is an effective therapy for families in which the caregiver has depression symptoms. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed