Os Transtornos Emocionais ou Transtornos Internalizantes compreendem os Transtornos de Ansiedade e a Depressão Maior. São condições comuns, com frequência apresentam um curso crônico, podem chegar a ser incapacitantes e estão associados ao desenvolvimento de outros transtornos mentais ao longo da vida. Existe um vasto campo de pesquisa buscando identificar fatores de risco e de vulnerabilidade para estes transtornos. Entre estes, a história familiar é notoriamente conhecida como um dos fatores de risco mais consistentes. Contudo, os mecanismos pelos quais transtornos psiquiátricos nos pais conferem risco de psicopatologia nos filhos ainda são desconhecidos. Nesta dissertação, buscaremos investigar se alterações no sistema de orientação da atenção para ameaças podem estar envolvidas na transmissão de risco de transtornos emocionais de mães para filhos. Participaram do estudo 1280 crianças com desenvolvimento típico, entre 6-14 anos, participantes da Coorte de Escolares de Alto Risco para Transtornos Psiquiátricos na Infância e Adolescência. A ausência de diagnóstico psiquiátrico nas crianças foi avaliada por meio do Developing and Well-Being Behaviour Assessment (DAWBA) e os diagnósticos de ansiedade ou depressão nas mães foram realizados através do Mini International Diagnosis Interview (MINI). Duas tarefas dot-probe, com diferentes tempos de exposição (500ms e 1250ms) foram utilizadas para avaliar vieses de atenção para faces de felicidade e para faces de raiva. Os resultados mostraram que meninas com mães com transtornos emocionais apresentaram uma maior atenção direcionada para ameaças em comparação com filhas de mães sem transtornos emocionais (i. e. humor ou ansiedade). Em contraste, o viés atencional para ameaças em meninos depende do tipo de transtorno emocional que a mãe apresenta. Ou seja, em comparação com filhos de mães sem transtornos emocionais, meninos com mães com depressão maior (na ausência de transtorno de ansiedade) mostraram um aumento da atenção em direção à ameaça, enquanto que este viés está ausente em meninos cujas mães apresentam transtorno de ansiedade. Conclui-se que o viés atencional pode ser um mecanismo mediador do risco parental para transtornos emocionais, o que deve ser melhor investigado em estudos longitudinais. Ainda, especula-se que a prevalência mais alta de transtornos de ansiedade em meninas poderia ser parcialmente explicada como um reflexo desta transmissão de risco, uma vez que meninos são afetados por viés em seus processos de informação apenas quando possuem mães deprimidas, enquanto que meninas têm estes processos afetados quando possuem mães deprimidas ou ansiosas. Os resultados têm implicações tanto para o entendimento dos mecanismos de transmissão de risco para transtornos de ansiedade e depressão, quanto para o desenvolvimento de intervenções preventivas e pesquisas futuras em crianças em risco para estes transtornos emocionais na infância e adolescência. / Emotional Disorders or Internalizing Disorders comprise Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders. These disorders are common, frequently have a chronic course, could lead to disability and are associated with the development of other mental disorders later in life. There is a vast field of research aiming to identify risk factors to these disorders. Among these, family history of psychiatric disorders is one of the most consistent risk factors for emotional disorders. However, the mechanisms by which parental psychiatric disorders confer risk for psychopathology in children are still unknown. In this dissertation, we aim to investigate whether changes in the attention orienting system towards threats might be involved in the risk transmission of emotional disorders from mothers to children. The study included 1280 typically developing children, 6-14 years of age, participants from the High Risk Cohort Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Absence of childhood diagnosis was performed using the Developing and Well-Being Behavior Assessment (DAWBA). Maternal diagnosis of Anxiety and Depression was performed using the Mini International Diagnosis Interview (MINI). Two dot-probe tasks, which differed in stimulus exposure (500ms and 1250ms), assessed attention biases for happy-face and threat-face cues. Results showed that girls with maternal emotion disorder showed increased attention to threat compared to daughters of disorder-free mothers, irrespective of the type of maternal emotion disorder (i.e. mood or anxiety). In contrast, attention bias to threat in boys depends on the type of maternal emotion disorder. That is, in comparison with sons of disorder-free mothers, boys with maternal mood disorder (in the absence of anxiety disorder) showed increased attention to threat, whereas this bias is absent in boys with maternal anxiety disorder. We conclude that threat bias could be a mechanism mediating parental risk for emotional disorders. Longitudinal studies must be conducted to investigate this. Moreover, it is speculated that the higher prevalence of anxiety in girls might be partially a reflection of this risk transmission, since boys are only affected by information processing bias with depressed mothers, whereas both depressed and anxious mothers affect such processes on girls. The results have implications both for understanding the mechanisms underlying risk transmission for anxiety and depressive disorders and developing of preventive interventions and future research in children at risk for emotional disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Os Transtornos Emocionais ou Transtornos Internalizantes compreendem os Transtornos de Ansiedade e a Depressão Maior. São condições comuns, com frequência apresentam um curso crônico, podem chegar a ser incapacitantes e estão associados ao desenvolvimento de outros transtornos mentais ao longo da vida. Existe um vasto campo de pesquisa buscando identificar fatores de risco e de vulnerabilidade para estes transtornos. Entre estes, a história familiar é notoriamente conhecida como um dos fatores de risco mais consistentes. Contudo, os mecanismos pelos quais transtornos psiquiátricos nos pais conferem risco de psicopatologia nos filhos ainda são desconhecidos. Nesta dissertação, buscaremos investigar se alterações no sistema de orientação da atenção para ameaças podem estar envolvidas na transmissão de risco de transtornos emocionais de mães para filhos. Participaram do estudo 1280 crianças com desenvolvimento típico, entre 6-14 anos, participantes da Coorte de Escolares de Alto Risco para Transtornos Psiquiátricos na Infância e Adolescência. A ausência de diagnóstico psiquiátrico nas crianças foi avaliada por meio do Developing and Well-Being Behaviour Assessment (DAWBA) e os diagnósticos de ansiedade ou depressão nas mães foram realizados através do Mini International Diagnosis Interview (MINI). Duas tarefas dot-probe, com diferentes tempos de exposição (500ms e 1250ms) foram utilizadas para avaliar vieses de atenção para faces de felicidade e para faces de raiva. Os resultados mostraram que meninas com mães com transtornos emocionais apresentaram uma maior atenção direcionada para ameaças em comparação com filhas de mães sem transtornos emocionais (i. e. humor ou ansiedade). Em contraste, o viés atencional para ameaças em meninos depende do tipo de transtorno emocional que a mãe apresenta. Ou seja, em comparação com filhos de mães sem transtornos emocionais, meninos com mães com depressão maior (na ausência de transtorno de ansiedade) mostraram um aumento da atenção em direção à ameaça, enquanto que este viés está ausente em meninos cujas mães apresentam transtorno de ansiedade. Conclui-se que o viés atencional pode ser um mecanismo mediador do risco parental para transtornos emocionais, o que deve ser melhor investigado em estudos longitudinais. Ainda, especula-se que a prevalência mais alta de transtornos de ansiedade em meninas poderia ser parcialmente explicada como um reflexo desta transmissão de risco, uma vez que meninos são afetados por viés em seus processos de informação apenas quando possuem mães deprimidas, enquanto que meninas têm estes processos afetados quando possuem mães deprimidas ou ansiosas. Os resultados têm implicações tanto para o entendimento dos mecanismos de transmissão de risco para transtornos de ansiedade e depressão, quanto para o desenvolvimento de intervenções preventivas e pesquisas futuras em crianças em risco para estes transtornos emocionais na infância e adolescência. / Emotional Disorders or Internalizing Disorders comprise Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders. These disorders are common, frequently have a chronic course, could lead to disability and are associated with the development of other mental disorders later in life. There is a vast field of research aiming to identify risk factors to these disorders. Among these, family history of psychiatric disorders is one of the most consistent risk factors for emotional disorders. However, the mechanisms by which parental psychiatric disorders confer risk for psychopathology in children are still unknown. In this dissertation, we aim to investigate whether changes in the attention orienting system towards threats might be involved in the risk transmission of emotional disorders from mothers to children. The study included 1280 typically developing children, 6-14 years of age, participants from the High Risk Cohort Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Absence of childhood diagnosis was performed using the Developing and Well-Being Behavior Assessment (DAWBA). Maternal diagnosis of Anxiety and Depression was performed using the Mini International Diagnosis Interview (MINI). Two dot-probe tasks, which differed in stimulus exposure (500ms and 1250ms), assessed attention biases for happy-face and threat-face cues. Results showed that girls with maternal emotion disorder showed increased attention to threat compared to daughters of disorder-free mothers, irrespective of the type of maternal emotion disorder (i.e. mood or anxiety). In contrast, attention bias to threat in boys depends on the type of maternal emotion disorder. That is, in comparison with sons of disorder-free mothers, boys with maternal mood disorder (in the absence of anxiety disorder) showed increased attention to threat, whereas this bias is absent in boys with maternal anxiety disorder. We conclude that threat bias could be a mechanism mediating parental risk for emotional disorders. Longitudinal studies must be conducted to investigate this. Moreover, it is speculated that the higher prevalence of anxiety in girls might be partially a reflection of this risk transmission, since boys are only affected by information processing bias with depressed mothers, whereas both depressed and anxious mothers affect such processes on girls. The results have implications both for understanding the mechanisms underlying risk transmission for anxiety and depressive disorders and developing of preventive interventions and future research in children at risk for emotional disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Os Transtornos Emocionais ou Transtornos Internalizantes compreendem os Transtornos de Ansiedade e a Depressão Maior. São condições comuns, com frequência apresentam um curso crônico, podem chegar a ser incapacitantes e estão associados ao desenvolvimento de outros transtornos mentais ao longo da vida. Existe um vasto campo de pesquisa buscando identificar fatores de risco e de vulnerabilidade para estes transtornos. Entre estes, a história familiar é notoriamente conhecida como um dos fatores de risco mais consistentes. Contudo, os mecanismos pelos quais transtornos psiquiátricos nos pais conferem risco de psicopatologia nos filhos ainda são desconhecidos. Nesta dissertação, buscaremos investigar se alterações no sistema de orientação da atenção para ameaças podem estar envolvidas na transmissão de risco de transtornos emocionais de mães para filhos. Participaram do estudo 1280 crianças com desenvolvimento típico, entre 6-14 anos, participantes da Coorte de Escolares de Alto Risco para Transtornos Psiquiátricos na Infância e Adolescência. A ausência de diagnóstico psiquiátrico nas crianças foi avaliada por meio do Developing and Well-Being Behaviour Assessment (DAWBA) e os diagnósticos de ansiedade ou depressão nas mães foram realizados através do Mini International Diagnosis Interview (MINI). Duas tarefas dot-probe, com diferentes tempos de exposição (500ms e 1250ms) foram utilizadas para avaliar vieses de atenção para faces de felicidade e para faces de raiva. Os resultados mostraram que meninas com mães com transtornos emocionais apresentaram uma maior atenção direcionada para ameaças em comparação com filhas de mães sem transtornos emocionais (i. e. humor ou ansiedade). Em contraste, o viés atencional para ameaças em meninos depende do tipo de transtorno emocional que a mãe apresenta. Ou seja, em comparação com filhos de mães sem transtornos emocionais, meninos com mães com depressão maior (na ausência de transtorno de ansiedade) mostraram um aumento da atenção em direção à ameaça, enquanto que este viés está ausente em meninos cujas mães apresentam transtorno de ansiedade. Conclui-se que o viés atencional pode ser um mecanismo mediador do risco parental para transtornos emocionais, o que deve ser melhor investigado em estudos longitudinais. Ainda, especula-se que a prevalência mais alta de transtornos de ansiedade em meninas poderia ser parcialmente explicada como um reflexo desta transmissão de risco, uma vez que meninos são afetados por viés em seus processos de informação apenas quando possuem mães deprimidas, enquanto que meninas têm estes processos afetados quando possuem mães deprimidas ou ansiosas. Os resultados têm implicações tanto para o entendimento dos mecanismos de transmissão de risco para transtornos de ansiedade e depressão, quanto para o desenvolvimento de intervenções preventivas e pesquisas futuras em crianças em risco para estes transtornos emocionais na infância e adolescência. / Emotional Disorders or Internalizing Disorders comprise Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders. These disorders are common, frequently have a chronic course, could lead to disability and are associated with the development of other mental disorders later in life. There is a vast field of research aiming to identify risk factors to these disorders. Among these, family history of psychiatric disorders is one of the most consistent risk factors for emotional disorders. However, the mechanisms by which parental psychiatric disorders confer risk for psychopathology in children are still unknown. In this dissertation, we aim to investigate whether changes in the attention orienting system towards threats might be involved in the risk transmission of emotional disorders from mothers to children. The study included 1280 typically developing children, 6-14 years of age, participants from the High Risk Cohort Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Absence of childhood diagnosis was performed using the Developing and Well-Being Behavior Assessment (DAWBA). Maternal diagnosis of Anxiety and Depression was performed using the Mini International Diagnosis Interview (MINI). Two dot-probe tasks, which differed in stimulus exposure (500ms and 1250ms), assessed attention biases for happy-face and threat-face cues. Results showed that girls with maternal emotion disorder showed increased attention to threat compared to daughters of disorder-free mothers, irrespective of the type of maternal emotion disorder (i.e. mood or anxiety). In contrast, attention bias to threat in boys depends on the type of maternal emotion disorder. That is, in comparison with sons of disorder-free mothers, boys with maternal mood disorder (in the absence of anxiety disorder) showed increased attention to threat, whereas this bias is absent in boys with maternal anxiety disorder. We conclude that threat bias could be a mechanism mediating parental risk for emotional disorders. Longitudinal studies must be conducted to investigate this. Moreover, it is speculated that the higher prevalence of anxiety in girls might be partially a reflection of this risk transmission, since boys are only affected by information processing bias with depressed mothers, whereas both depressed and anxious mothers affect such processes on girls. The results have implications both for understanding the mechanisms underlying risk transmission for anxiety and depressive disorders and developing of preventive interventions and future research in children at risk for emotional disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Plusieurs facteurs de risque de développement de troubles intériorisés, tels que les troubles d’anxiété et de l’humeur, ont été identifiés dans la littérature. Les deux plus importants facteurs de risques regroupent l’adversité vécue durant l’enfance (par exemple la maltraitance) et le risque parental (c’est-à-dire la présence d’un trouble intériorisé chez l’un ou les deux parents). Ces facteurs de risque ont été liés à des changements neuroanatomiques similaires à ceux observés en lien avec les troubles intériorisés. Ainsi, en présence de ces facteurs de risque, des anomalies anatomiques pourraient laisser présager l’apparition prochaine d’une symptomatologie de troubles intériorisés chez des individus encore asymptomatiques. Chez les quelques populations de jeunes investiguées, les participants présentaient des comorbidités et/ou étaient sous médication, ce qui rend difficile l’interprétation des atteintes cérébrales observées. Ce travail de thèse s’est intéressé aux liens entre ces deux facteurs de risque et les substrats neuroanatomiques associés à chacun d’eux, chez des adolescents asymptomatiques et n’étant sous aucune médication. Une première étude a examiné le lien entre le niveau de pratiques parentales coercitives et le niveau de symptômes d’anxiété, mesurés de manière longitudinale depuis la naissance, et les différences neuroanatomiques observées à l’adolescence (voir Chapitre 2). Une deuxième étude a examiné le lien entre le risque parental de développer des troubles d’anxiété et les différences neuroanatomiques observées à l’adolescence (voir Chapitre 3). Une troisième étude s’est intéressée au lien entre le risque parental de développer un trouble de dépression ou un trouble bipolaire et les différences neuroanatomiques observées à l’adolescence (voir Chapitre 4). Les résultats démontrent des différences de volume et/ou d’épaisseur corticale dans plusieurs structures clés impliquées dans le traitement et la régulation des émotions. C’est le cas du cortex préfrontal, de l’amygdale, de l’hippocampe et du striatum. Ces résultats suggèrent que certaines des différences neuroanatomiques observées dans les troubles intériorisés peuvent être présentes avant que le trouble ne se manifeste, et représenter des marqueurs neuronaux du risque de développer le trouble. Les implications théoriques et les limites de ces trois études sont finalement discutées dans le Chapitre 5. / Several risk factors for the development of internalized disorders such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorders have been identified in the literature. The two most important risk factors include adversity during childhood (i.e. abuse, neglect and harsh parenting) and parental risk (i.e. the presence of an internalized disorder in one or both parents). These risk factors have been linked to anatomical changes in several brain structures, which are similar to those observed in internalized disorders. Thus, in the presence of these risk factors, anatomical abnormalities may predict the appearance of internalized disorders in asymptomatic individuals. In the few studies that have investigated the influence of these risk factors in a youth population, participants often had comorbidities and/or were medicated, which makes the observed anatomical changes difficult to interpret. This work has focused on these two risk factors (i.e. adversity during childhood, in the form of harsh parenting, and the parental risk) and their link with the anatomical cerebral substrates, in asymptomatic and un-medicated adolescents. A first study examined the link between harsh parenting, levels of anxiety symptoms, as measured longitudinally from birth, and neuroanatomical differences in adolescents (see Chapter 2). A second study examined the link between parental risk of developing anxiety disorders, and neuroanatomical differences in adolescents (see Chapter 3). A third study looked at the link between parental risk for developing depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, and neuroanatomical differences in adolescents (see Chapter 4). Results show differences in volume and/or cortical thickness of several key cerebral structures involved in emotional processing and regulation. This is the case of the prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, the amygdala, hippocampus and striatum. These results suggest that some neuroanatomical differences in internalized disorders may be present before the disorder emerges, and represent neuronal markers denoting the risk of developing the disorder. The theoretical implications and limitations of these three studies are discussed in Chapter 5.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Cette thèse a pour objectif l’investigation du circuit des récompenses, sur les plans comportementaux et neuronaux, chez des adolescents à risque parental élevé de dépression majeure et de trouble bipolaire, en comparaison à des jeunes à risque parental peu élevé. Plus précisément, le but est d’identifier des marqueurs comportementaux et neuronaux du risque de développer une dépression majeure ou un trouble bipolaire, afin d’être en mesure de détecter et de prévenir ces troubles le plus tôt possible pour éviter, ou du moins retarder, leur émergence. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé deux études, présentées ici dans deux articles empiriques. Dans le premier article, le fonctionnement comportemental et neuronal du circuit des récompenses a été investigué au moyen d’une tâche d’anticipation et d’obtention de gains et de pertes monétaires, chez des adolescents à risque parental de dépression majeure (i.e., jeunes asymptomatiques dont un des parents souffre de dépression majeure), des adolescents à risque parental de trouble bipolaire (i.e., jeunes asymptomatiques dont un des parents souffre de trouble bipolaire) et des adolescents contrôles (i.e., jeunes asymptomatiques dont les deux parents sont en bonne santé mentale). Au niveau comportemental, les résultats ont révélé une meilleure performance chez les jeunes à risque de dépression majeure lorsqu’ils devaient éviter d’obtenir des pertes monétaires de magnitude variée (0,20$, 1$ ou 5$), ainsi qu’une meilleure performance chez les jeunes à risque de trouble bipolaire sur les essais impliquant d’éviter des pertes monétaires de magnitude nulle (0$). Au niveau neuronal, les jeunes à risque de dépression majeure démontraient une diminution de l’activation du cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral lors de l’anticipation de potentielles pertes monétaires de magnitude variée, tandis que les jeunes à risque de trouble bipolaire démontraient une diminution de l’activation du cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral lors de l’anticipation de potentielles pertes monétaires de magnitude nulle. De plus, les jeunes à risque de dépression majeure tendaient à démontrer une augmentation de l’activité du cortex orbitofrontal durant l’évitement réussi de pertes monétaires, tandis que les jeunes à risque de trouble bipolaire tendaient à démontrer une augmentation de l’activité du cortex orbitofrontal lors de l’obtention de pertes monétaires. Dans le deuxième article, l’intégrité structurelle des régions fronto-limbiques a été investiguée, au moyen de mesures du volume, de l’épaisseur corticale et de la superficie corticale. Les résultats ont mis en évidence, chez les jeunes à risque de trouble bipolaire, un volume plus élevé du cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral, par rapport aux jeunes à risque de dépression majeure et contrôles. De plus, les jeunes à risque de trouble bipolaire présentaient un volume plus élevé du cortex cingulaire postérieur, en comparaison aux jeunes à risque de dépression majeure. Enfin, une diminution de l’épaisseur corticale du cortex orbitofrontal et du gyrus frontal moyen a été observée chez les adolescents à risque de trouble bipolaire, en comparaison au groupe contrôle. L’ensemble de ces résultats démontre ainsi l’existence de particularités comportementales et d’altérations neuronales sur les plans fonctionnel et structurel, chez des jeunes à risque élevé de troubles de l’humeur, et ce, avant même l’émergence des premiers symptômes thymiques. Plus particulièrement, ces caractéristiques pourraient constituer des marqueurs du risque de développer un trouble de l’humeur. Par conséquent, ces marqueurs pourraient aider à mieux identifier les jeunes qui sont le plus à risque de développer un trouble de l’humeur, et ainsi permettre la mise en place précoce de stratégies préventives adaptées, afin d’éviter des trajectoires développementales psychopathologiques. / This thesis aims to investigate the behavioral and neural reward circuitry, in youths at high parental risk for major depressive and bipolar disorder, in comparison to youths at low parental risk for mood disorders. More specifically, the goal is to identify behavioral and neural markers of the risk to develop a major depressive or a bipolar disorder in order to early detect and prevent these disorders, and ultimately to avoid, or at least delay, their emergence. To do so, we conducted two experiments, presented herein in two empirical articles. In the first article, behavioral and neuronal reward circuitry were investigated in youths at high parental risk for major depressive disorder (i.e, asymptomatic youths which one of the parents is suffering from major depression), youths at high parental risk for bipolar disorder (i.e, asymptomatic youths which one of the parents is suffering from bipolar disorder) and control youths (i.e, asymptomatic youths from mentally healthy parents). Therefore, we used a monetary incentive delay task allowing the assessment of monetary gain and loss anticipation and outcome. Behaviorally, results revealed a better performance in youths at risk for major depressive disorder on trials involving potential losses of various magnitude (0,20$, 1$ or 5$), as well as a better performance in youths at risk for bipolar disorder on trials involving potential null losses (0$). Regarding imaging data, youths at risk for major depressive disorder demonstrated a reduced activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the anticipation of potential monetary losses of various magnitude, while youths at risk for bipolar disorder showed a reduced activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the anticipation of potential null losses. Moreover, youths at risk for major depressive disorder tended to have an increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex during successful avoidance of monetary losses, while youths at risk for bipolar disorder tended to demonstrate an increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex during feedback of monetary losses. In the second article, structural integrity of fronto-limbic regions was investigated, through volumetric, cortical thickness and surface area measures. Results have highlighted, in youths at risk for bipolar disorder, an increased volume in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, compared to both youths at risk for major depressive disorder and controls. Moreover, youths at risk for bipolar disorder showed an increased volume in the posterior cingulate cortex, in comparison to youths at risk for major depressive disorder. Finally, a reduced thickness in the orbitofrontal cortex and middle frontal gyrus were observed in youths at risk for bipolar disorder, in comparison to control youths. Taken together, these results demonstrate the existence of behavioral particularities, and neuronal alterations regarding functional and structural data, in youths at high risk for mood disorders, and this, even before the emergence of the first mood symptoms. More specifically, these characteristics might constitute markers of the risk to develop a mood disorder. Consequently, these markers could help to better identify youths who are most at risk to develop a mood disorder, and thus allow the early implementation of adapted preventive strategies to avoid psychopathological developmental trajectories.

Parents make decisions on behalf of their children on a daily basis. Some parents in the United States face the unique decision of whether or not to allow football participation for their child at a very young age. Using sensemaking theory, I examined how parents assessed the risks involved in making the decision to allow their child to play tackle football. I interviewed 24 participants in the form of 12 parental couples who had children playing middle school football and coded their responses to identify themes and strategies for risk assessment. Themes that emerged were decision-agency (parent and child agency), risk assessment (downplaying risk, acknowledgement of risk with rationalizations, zero risk assessment), and decision-making concepts (cultural influence, familial identity, social influences, information sources). I expanded on the sensemaking supposition of individual identity by arguing that familial identity can also impact decision-making. A key finding to this study was the typology of parents that emerged including football families-parent agency, hesitant family- parent agency, and child focused family-child agency. The type of family reflected families' reception to community culture, impact of social influence, and openness to information sources. Family type also impacted the risk assessment process and belief of control over outcomes in football participation.