Prospective associations of co-rumination with friendship and emotional adjustment: Considering the socioemotional trade-offs of co-rumination.

Co-ruminating, or excessively discussing problems, with friends is proposed to have adjustment tradeoffs. Co-rumination is hypothesized to contribute both to positive friendship adjustment and to problematic emotional adjustment. Previous single-assessment research was consistent with this hypothesis, but whether co-rumination is an antecedent of adjustment changes was unknown. A 6-month longitudinal study with middle childhood to midadolescent youths examined whether co-rumination is simultaneously a risk factor (for depression and anxiety) and a protective factor (for friendship problems). For girls, a reciprocal relationship was found in which co-rumination predicted increased depressive and anxiety symptoms and increased positive friendship quality over time, which, in turn, contributed to greater co-rumination. For boys, having depressive and anxiety symptoms and high-quality friendships also predicted increased co-rumination. However, for boys, co-rumination predicted only increasing positive friendship quality and not increasing depression and anxiety. An implication of this research is that some girls at risk for developing internalizing problems may go undetected because they have seemingly supportive friendships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It takes three: Selection, influence, and de-selection processes of depression in adolescent friendship networks.

The authors of this study tested a selection–influence–de-selection model of depression. This model explains friendship influence processes (i.e., friends' depressive symptoms increase adolescents' depressive symptoms) while controlling for two processes: friendship selection (i.e., selection of friends with similar levels of depressive symptoms) and friendship de-selection (i.e., de-selection of friends with dissimilar levels of depressive symptoms). Further, this study is unique in that these processes were studied both inside and outside the school context. The authors used a social network approach to examine 5 annual measurements of data in a large (N =847) community-based network of adolescents and their friends (M = 14.3 years old at first measurement). Results supported the proposed model: adolescents tend to select friends with similar levels of depression, and friends may increase each other's depressive symptoms as relationships endure. These two processes were most salient outside the school context. At the same time, friendships seemed to be ended more frequently if adolescents' level of depressive symptoms was dissimilar to that of their friends. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent Girls' Interpersonal Vulnerability to Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Examination of Reassurance-Seeking and Peer Relationships.

A transactional, interpersonal framework involving adolescents' reassurance-seeking and peer experiences may be useful for understanding the emergence of gender differences in depression prevalence during the adolescent transition. Sociometric nominations of peer acceptance/rejection and ratings of friendship quality provided by adolescents and their friends were used to measure peer experiences among 6th-8th-grade adolescents (N = 520) over 3 annual time points. After controlling for age and pubertal development, significant but small prospective effects offered mixed support for hypotheses: (a) depressive symptoms and negative peer relations predicted increasing levels of girls' reassurance-seeking; (b) initial levels of reassurance-seeking and depressive symptoms predicted deteriorating friendship quality among girls and low friendship stability, respectively; and (c) reassurance-seeking combined with poor peer experiences predicted increases in girls' depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental trajectories of adolescents' depressive symptoms: Predictors of change.

in a sample of 240 adolescents assessed annually in Grades 6 through 11, the developmental trajectories of their depressive symptoms were examined using latent factor growth modeling. Growth in mother-reported adolest.ent depressive symptoms was quadratic; growth in adolescent-reported symptoms was linear. In the model with gender and maternal depression, girls reported a greater increase in depressive symptoms over time than boys, and adolescents of mothers with histories of mood disorders had higher initial levels of depressive symptoms than offspring of never-depressed mothers. After gender and maternal depression were controlled, initial levels of negative attributions and stressors significantly predicted initial levels of adolescent- and mother-reported depressive symptoms. Attributional styles that were increasingly negative across time were associated with significantly higher initial levels (mother reported) and increasing growth (adolescent reported) of depressive symptoms. Reciprocal models in which development of depressive symptoms predicted the development of attributions and stress also were examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective study of adolescents' self-reported depressive symptoms: Are risk behaviours a stronger predictor than anxiety symptoms?

This longitudinal study of adolescents from a Nova Scotia coastal town examined whether change in self-reported depressive symptoms could be predicted from adolescents' concurrent and prior reports of anxiety symptoms and risk behaviors. Questionnaires were completed by 131 youths (80 females, 51 males; aged 12–17 yrs) in their classrooms 2 years apart. Results show that adolescents' concurrent reports of involvement in risk behaviors were linked to an increase in depressive symptoms only when they also were high on anxiety symptoms. Prior involvement in risk behaviors, but not prior anxiety symptoms, also predicted an increase in depressive symptoms. The importance of evaluating covariation among multiple types of symptoms and targeting the positive and negative consequences of risk behaviors adolescents is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of the first onset of a major depressive episode and changes in depressive symptoms across adolescence: Stress and negative cognitions.

This 6-year longitudinal study examined stressors (e.g., interpersonal, achievement), negative cognitions (self-worth, attributions), and their interactions in the prediction of (a) the first onset of a major depressive episode (MDE), and (b) changes in depressive symptoms in adolescents who varied in risk for depression. The sample included 240 adolescents who were first evaluated in Grade 6 (M = 11.86 years old; SD = 0.57; 54.2% female) and then again annually through Grade 12. Stressful life events and depressive diagnoses were assessed with interviews; negative cognitions and depressive symptoms were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Discrete time hazard modeling revealed a significant interaction between interpersonal stressors and negative cognitions, indicating that first onset of an MDE was predicted by high negative cognitions in the context of low interpersonal stress, and by high levels of interpersonal stressors at both high and low levels of negative cognitions. Analyses of achievement stressors indicated significant main effects of stress, negative cognitions, and risk in the prediction of an MDE, but no interactions. With regard to the prediction of depressive symptoms, multilevel modeling revealed a significant interaction between interpersonal stressors and negative cognitions such that among adolescents with more negative cognitions, higher levels of interpersonal stress predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, whereas at low levels of negative cognitions, the relation between interpersonal stressors and depression was not significant. Risk (i.e., maternal depression history) and sex did not further moderate these interactions. Implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Youth depression and early childrearing: Stress generation and intergenerational transmission of depression.

Objective: Broadening the concept of stress generation beyond acute life events, the current study explores predictors of the creation of stressful environments—specifically, selection into early childrearing by age 20. It was predicted that youth with early onset depressive disorders would be at higher risk for early childrearing accompanied by greater depression and parenting maladjustment. Additional analyses tested hypotheses about the roles of interpersonal vulnerability and intergenerational transmission of depression and examined gender differences. Method: A community sample of 706 adolescents and their mothers were studied at ages 15 and 20. The sample was originally selected to oversample families with depressed mothers. Results: Results confirmed the hypotheses for women but not men: Young women with depression by age 15 were at greater risk for interpersonal difficulties at age 15 and early childrearing, accompanied by further depression and parenting dysfunction at age 20. The effects of (grand)maternal depression were evident in predicting youth early onset depression and interpersonal difficulties, as well as higher rates of depression among their daughters who had children by age 20. Conclusions: The study expands the definition of stress generation to include the role of past depression and other risk factors as predictors of selection into a stressful childrearing environment. The findings also describe aspects of the intergenerational transmission of depression. The results highlight potentially important targets for interventions in young women to prevent recurrence of major depression and parenting dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in depressive symptoms in adolescence: Comparison of national samples of clinically referred and nonreferred youths.

Gender differences in depressed mood, a syndrome of mixed anxiety-depression. and an analogue of major depressive disorder were compared in parents' and adolescents' reports in 2 large, demographically matched national samples of clinically referred and nonreferred adolescents. Referral status accounted for the greatest share of the variance in these problems. Gender differences were moderate in size and consistent in referred youths, with referred girls scoring higher than referred boys on all measures, whereas gender differences in nonreferred adolescents were either nonsignificant or small in magnitude. Gender differences were also larger in magnitude in adolescents' self-reports than in parents' reports. The interaction of age and gender was nonsignificant in all analyses. Implications for understanding the extent of gender differences in adolescents' depressive symptoms are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caretaking behaviors by adolescent children of mothers with and without a history of depression.

In a sample of 72 mothers with and without a history of depression and their adolescent children, maternal depression history, current maternal depressive symptoms, intrusive and withdrawn parental behavior, and adolescent caretaking behaviors were examined as predictors of adjustment in these youth. Two types of caretaking behaviors were examined: emotional (e.g., caring for a parent's emotional distress) and instrumental (e.g., looking after younger siblings). Although adolescents of mothers with and without a history of depression were comparable on levels of both types of caretaking, caretaking was associated with adolescents' reports of anxiety–depression and mothers' reports of social competence only for adolescents of mothers with a history of depression. Moreover, regression models showed that among children of mothers with a history of depression, emotional, but not instrumental, caretaking was related to adolescents' anxiety–depression symptoms and social competence after controlling for current parental depressive symptoms and stressful parenting behaviors. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of family, peer, and school contexts on depressive symptoms in adolescents with spina bifida.

Objective: Based on social ecological theory, this study examined the joint relations among adolescents' family, peer, and school contexts and depressive symptoms in youth with spina bifida using cumulative, protective, and specific effects models. Method: Sixty families of adolescents with spina bifida and 65 comparison families reported on adolescents' positive experiences within these contexts and on depressive symptoms when youth were 14–15 and 16–17 years old. Results: Adolescents with spina bifida had fewer total positive contexts and less positive experience within peer and school contexts, as compared to typically developing adolescents. Greater total number of positive contexts and higher levels of positive experiences within family and school contexts were associated with fewer depressive symptoms for both groups; peer positive experiences were related to lower depressive symptoms for typically developing adolescents only. Conclusion: Adolescents with spina bifida have fewer positive contexts, which may place them at risk for higher levels of depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and delinquency covariation in an accelerated longitudinal sample of adolescents.

Objectives: The current study tested opposing predictions stemming from the failure and acting out theories of depression–delinquency covariation. Method: Participants included a nationwide longitudinal sample of adolescents (N = 3,604) ages 12 to 17. Competing models were tested with cohort-sequential latent growth curve modeling to determine whether depressive symptoms at age 12 (baseline) predicted concurrent and age-related changes in delinquent behavior, whether the opposite pattern was apparent (delinquency predicting depression), and whether initial levels of depression predict changes in delinquency significantly better than vice versa. Results: Early depressive symptoms predicted age-related changes in delinquent behavior significantly better than early delinquency predicted changes in depressive symptoms. In addition, the impact of gender on age-related changes in delinquent symptoms was mediated by gender differences in depressive symptom changes, indicating that depressive symptoms are a particularly salient risk factor for delinquent behavior in girls. Conclusion: Early depressive symptoms represent a significant risk factor for later delinquent behavior—especially for girls—and appear to be a better predictor of later delinquency than early delinquency is of later depression. These findings provide support for the acting out theory and contradict failure theory predictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective study of stress autonomy versus stress sensitization in adolescents at varied risk for depression.

This longitudinal study investigated the stress autonomy, stress sensitization, and depression vulnerability hypotheses in adolescents across 6 years (i.e., Grades 6 through 12). Participants were 240 children (Time 1 mean age = 11.86, SD = 0.57) who varied in risk for depression on the basis of their mother's history of mood disorders. All analyses were conducted as multilevel models to account for nesting in the data. Results were consistent with the stress sensitization hypothesis. The within-subject relation of stress levels to depressive symptoms strengthened with increasing numbers of prior depressive episodes. In addition, evidence consistent with the vulnerability hypothesis was found. The relation of stress levels to depressive symptoms was stronger for adolescents who were at risk for depression on the basis of maternal depression history and for those who had experienced more depressive episodes through Grade 12. These findings suggest that onsets of depression in adolescents may be predicted by both relatively stable and dynamic transactions between stressful life events and vulnerabilities such as maternal depression and youths' own history of depressive episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective study of the cognitive-stress model of depressive symptoms in adolescents.

This prospective study investigated a cognitive diathesis-stress model of depression in adolescents across the transition from 6th to 7th grade using individual, additive, weakest link, and keystone approaches to operationalizing the cognitive vulnerability. Participants were 240 young adolescents (mean age = 11.87 years, SD = 0.57) who differed in risk for mood disorders based on their mother's history of depression. Results of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated some support for the individual, additive, weakest link, and keystone diatheses. In particular, the weakest link diathesis interacted with stress and gender to predict increases in depressive symptoms in 7th grade; the form of this interaction was consistent with the cognitive diathesis-stress model for boys, whereas for girls the pattern of relations reflected more of a dual-vulnerability model. That is, high levels of depressive symptoms were found for all girls except those with more positive cognitive styles and low stress levels. These findings highlight the utility of examining different approaches to combining measures of cognitive vulnerability in conjunction with stress in predicting depressive symptoms, and the importance of exploring gender differences with regard to the cognitive diathesis-stress model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life events and depression in adolescence: Relationship loss as a prospective risk factor for first onset of major depressive disorder.

Although stressful life events have consistently been linked to the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD), most research has not distinguished 1st episodes from recurrences. In a large epidemiologic: sample of older adolescents (N?=?1,470) assessed at 2 time points, the risk conferred by a recent romantic break-up was examined as a predictor of 1st onset versus recurrence of MDD. Results indicated a heightened likelihood of 1st onset of MDD during adolescence if a recent break-up had been reported; in contrast, a recent break-up did not predict recurrence of depression. These results held for both genders and remained significant after controlling for gender. Additional analyses to determine the discriminant validity and specificity of these findings strongly supported the recent break-up as a significant risk factor for a 1st episode of MDD during adolescence. Implications of these findings and subsequent research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective reciprocal relations between physical activity and depression in female adolescents.

Objective: Although an inverse correlation between physical activity and depression among adolescents has been found in research, this relation has seldom been examined prospectively. Thus, we tested whether physical activity reduces risk for future escalations in depression and whether depression decreases likelihood of future change in physical activity. Method: Data from a longitudinal study involving annual assessments of 496 adolescent girls (mean age = 13 years, SD = 0.73) followed over a 6-year period were analyzed to address these questions. Results: Using analyses that controlled for several covariates, we found that physical activity significantly reduced risk for future increases in depressive symptoms and risk for onset of major–minor depression. Further, depressive symptoms and major–minor depression significantly reduced future physical activity. However, predictive effects were modest for both. Conclusions: Results support a bidirectional relation between exercise and depression and imply that interventions that increase physical activity may reduce risk for depression among this high-risk population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of family obligation and depressive symptoms among Chinese American adolescents.

The purpose of this 2-year, 3-wave longitudinal study of Chinese American adolescents was to examine how family obligation behaviors and attitudes change over time; how gender, nativity, and birth order predict these trajectories; and whether family obligation relates to depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that family obligation behaviors decreased over the 2-year period but that family obligation attitudes were stable. Moreover, foreign-born adolescents reported higher levels of family obligation behavior than U.S.-born adolescents, and firstborn adolescents reported higher family obligation attitudes than laterborn adolescents. There were no gender differences in family obligation behaviors or attitudes. The findings also suggest that initial higher levels of family obligation were associated with subsequently fewer depressive symptoms. Finally, changes in family obligation behaviors related to changes in depressive symptoms over time such that increasing family obligation behaviors related to decreasing depressive symptoms. The results highlight the importance of understanding the role of family obligation to Chinese American adolescents’ mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal look at the relation between depression and anxiety in children and adolescents.

Elementary school students (n?=?330) and their parents (n?=?228) participated in a 3-year longitudinal study of the temporal relation between anxiety and depressive symptoms in children. Every 6 months, children and parents completed depression and anxiety questionnaires for a total of 6 waves. Structural equation modeling revealed that individual differences on all measures were remarkably stable over time. Nevertheless, high levels of anxiety symptoms at 1 point in time predicted high levels of depressive symptoms at subsequent points in time even after controlling for prior levels of depression symptoms. These findings were consistent across self- and parent reports. Results support the temporal hypothesis that anxiety leads to depression in children and adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy trial of a brief cognitive–behavioral depression prevention program for high-risk adolescents: Effects at 1- and 2-year follow-up.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a brief group cognitive–behavioral (CB) depression prevention program for high-risk adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms at 1- and 2-year follow-up. Method: In this indicated prevention trial, 341 at-risk youths were randomized to a group CB intervention, group supportive expressive intervention, CB bibliotherapy, or educational brochure control condition. Results: Significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms were shown by group CB participants relative to brochure control participants by 1-year follow-up and bibliotherapy participants by 1- and 2-year follow-up but not relative to supportive expressive participants. Supportive expressive participants showed greater symptom reduction than CB bibliotherapy participants did at 2-year follow-up. Risk for onset of major or minor depression over the 2-year follow-up was significantly lower for group CB participants (14%; odds ratio = 2.2) and CB bibliotherapy participants (3%; odds ratio = 8.1) than for brochure controls (23%). Conclusions: Results indicate that this group CB intervention reduces initial symptoms and risk for future depressive episodes, although both supportive expressive therapy and CB bibliotherapy also produce intervention effects that persist long term. Indeed, CB bibliotherapy emerged as the least expensive method of reducing risk for future episodes of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

First onset versus recurrence of depression: Differential processes of psychosocial risk.

Differential risk factors for the onset of depression were prospectively examined in a community-based sample of adolescents (N?=?1,709), some of whom had a history of major depressive disorder (MDD; n?=?286) and some of whom did not (n?=?1,423). From the theories of J. Teasdale (1983, 1988) and R. Post (1992) concerning the etiology of initial versus recurrent episodes of depression, the authors hypothesized that (a) dysphoric mood and dysfunctional thinking styles would be correlated more highly among those with a previous history of MDD than among those without a history of MDD; (b) dysphoric mood or symptoms and dysfunctional thinking would be a stronger predictor of onset of recurrent episodes (n?=?43) than of first onsets (n?=?70); and (c) major life stress would be a stronger predictor of first onsets of MDD than of recurrent episodes. The results provide support for the 3 hypotheses and suggest that distinct processes are involved in the onset of first and recurrent episodes of MDD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rumination as a vulnerability factor to depression during the transition from early to middle adolescence: A multiwave longitudinal study.

The current study examined vulnerability to depression during the transition from early to middle adolescence from the perspective of the response styles theory. During an initial assessment, 382 adolescents (ages 11–15 years) completed self-report measures assessing rumination and depressive symptoms as well as a semistructured clinical interview assessing current and past major depressive episodes. Every 3 months for the subsequent 2 years, adolescents completed self-report measures assessing depressive symptoms and negative events. Every 6 months, adolescents completed a semistructured clinical interview assessing the onset of new major depressive episodes. Higher levels of rumination were associated with a greater likelihood of exhibiting a past history of major depressive episodes, a greater likelihood of experiencing the onset of a future major depressive episode, and greater duration of future depressive episodes. Consistent with a vulnerability-stress perspective, rumination moderated the association between the occurrence of negative events and the development of future depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)