Minding the Gap: Adolescent and Parent/Caregiver Reporter Discrepancies on Symptom Presence, Impact of Covariates, and Clinical Implications.

Abstract

Primary care practitioners (PCPs) provide care to adolescents in the context of their families. Supporting parent/caregiver knowledge of symptoms can create opportunities for better recognition of symptoms that can then lead to early identification, intervention, and prevention of poor outcomes. Cross-sectional comparative study of parent/caregiver reported versus adolescent reported symptom presence of anhedonia and depressed mood in the participants of ABCD Study. Large discrepancies exist between adolescent and parent-reported presence of symptoms. Improving understanding of the etiology, covariates, and patterns of discrepancies may improve primary care assessment, adolescent access to care, and intervention for adolescents and their families. Furthermore, providing education to families about symptom features, working to improve adolescent-caregiver communication, promoting adolescent advocacy, and connecting families to community resources are important attributes of primary care and areas of adolescent and family functioning that primary care providers can strengthen.