The Course of Depressive Symptoms in Men From Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Identifying Latent Trajectories and Early Predictors.

Heterogeneity in the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms was studied through the use of general growth mixture modeling for young men in the Oregon Youth Study (N=206), who ranged in age from 15 to 24 years. Four trajectory classes were identified: the very-low, the moderate-decreasing, the high-decreasing, and the high-persistent classes. The 3 lowest classes differed primarily quantitatively with the initial level or mean level across time being the major determinant of class differences, whereas the high-persistent class appeared qualitatively different in terms of long-term developmental trends and variation. Findings from univariate and multivariate analyses revealed specific effects of childhood, parental, contextual, and individual risk factors on the class membership as well as on the growth within each trajectory class. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marijuana Use From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Multiple Developmental Trajectories and Their Associated Outcomes.

This study used latent growth mixture modeling to identify discrete developmental patterns of marijuana use from early adolescence (age 13) to young adulthood (age 23) among a sample of 5,833 individuals. After the a priori removal of abstainers, 4 trajectory groups were identified: early high users, who decreased from a relatively high level of use at age 13 to a more moderate level: stable light users, who maintained a low level of use: steady increasers, who consistently increased use; and occasional light users, who began use at age 14 and used at low levels thereafter. Analyses of covariance comparing the trajectory groups on behavioral, socioeconomic, and health outcomes at age 29 revealed that abstainers consistently had the most favorable outcomes, whereas early high users consistently had the least favorable outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Etiological Contributions to Heavy Drinking From Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood.

The authors examined genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change in heavy drinking from late adolescence to young adulthood in a sample of 1,152 twin pairs. In men, heavy drinking was similarly heritable at ages 17 (h2 = .57) and 20 (h2 = .39), and its stability owed primarily to common genetic factors. In women, heavy drinking was less heritable than in men at ages 17 (h2 = .18) and 20 (h2 = .30) and its stability was primarily due to enduring shared environmental influences. P3 amplitude, an event-related brain potential marker of alcoholism risk, was less predictive of heavy drinking in women than in men, providing further support for the proposition that biological factors have less impact on heavy drinking in young adult women than in young adult men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational Relationships in Young Adulthood and Their Life Course, Mental Health, and Personality Correlates.

To evaluate effects of life-course events and experiences of young adults, as well as personality and mental-health history on intergenerational relationships in young adulthood, the authors examined dyadic relationship data drawn from a sample of more than 900 New Zealand 26-year-olds and their mothers and fathers. Results indicated that intergenerational relations were more positive when young adults were childless, not unemployed, married, and living away from home, but these factors did not interact with family relationship history in predicting relationship outcomes. Intergenerational relationships were less positive when children scored low on positive emotionality and constraint and high on negative emotionality and mental disorders, though these attributes did not account for the effect of life-course factors. Results are discussed in terms of the openness of the parent-child relationship in adulthood to further development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The symptomatic expression of major depressive disorder in adolescents and young adults.

Data from the Oregon Adolescent Depression Project were used to examine the symptomatic expression of major depressive disorder (MDD) as a function of age and gender. The objective was to investigate the phenomenological nature of MDD among a cohort of adolescents as they progressed into early adulthood. The analyses were based on 564 participants who had experienced MDD in their lifetime. No systematic differences in the relative rate of occurrence of specific symptoms across episodes and only minor symptom differences between male and female participants were found. Age did not significantly influence the symptom picture. Stability of specific symptoms and episode severity across episodes was low. The results are discussed within the context of a stressor-symptom matching model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality Disorder Traits During Adolescence and Relationships With Family Members During the Transition to Adulthood.

Data from the Children in the Community Transitions Study, a prospective longitudinal investigation, were used to examine the association between adolescent personality disorder (PD) traits and conflict with family members during the transition to adulthood. PD traits at mean age 16 years were associated with elevated contact and conflict with family members between ages 17 and 27 years after Axis I disorders were controlled. There was a significant association between frequent contact and elevated conflict with family members. Both declined gradually during the transition to adulthood. Reduced family contact was associated with reduced family conflict, particularly among individuals who had numerous PD traits during adolescence. Among individuals who had a high level of family conflict during adolescence, reduced family contact between ages 17 and 22 years was associated with a subsequent reduction in conflict with family members between ages 22 and 27 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two-Year Prospective Naturalistic Study of Remission From Major Depressive Disorder as a Function of Personality Disorder Comorbidity.

In this study, the authors examined prospectively the 24-month natural course of remission from major depressive disorder (MDD) as a function of personality disorder (PD) comorbidity. In 302 participants (196 women, 106 men), psychiatric and PDs were assessed at baseline with diagnostic interviews, and the course of MDD was assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation at 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-ups. Survival analyses revealed an overall 24-month remission rate of 73.5% for MDD that differed little by gender. Participants with MDD who had certain forms of coexisting PD psychopathology (schizotypal, borderline, or avoidant) as their primary PD diagnoses had a significantly longer time to remission from MDD than did patients with MDD without any PD. These PDs emerged as robust predictors of slowed remission from MDD even when controlling for other negative prognostic predictors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and Validity of the Beck Depression Inventory--II With Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients.

This investigation was conducted to validate the Beck Depression Inventory--II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) in samples of adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The sample in each substudy was primarily Caucasian. In Study 1, expert raters (N=7) and adolescent psychiatric inpatients (N=13) evaluated the BDI-II items to assess content validity. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analyses of several first-order solutions failed to provide adequate fit estimates to data for 205 boys, 203 girls, and the combined sample. Exploratory factor analyses identified new item-factor solutions. Reliability estimates were good (range = .72 to .91) for the BDI-II total and scale scores. In Study 3 (N=161 boys and 158 girls from Study 2), preliminary evidence for estimates of concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity were established for the BDI-II. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental Trajectories of Cigarette Smoking and Their Correlates From Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood.

Smoking initiation typically occurs in adolescence and increases over time into emerging adulthood. Thus adolescence and emerging adulthood compose a critical time period for prevention and intervention efforts. To inform these efforts, this study used latent growth mixture modeling to identify 6 smoking trajectories from ages 13 to 23 among 5,914 individuals: nonsmokers (28%), stable highs (6%), early increasers (10%), late increasers (10%), decreasers (6%), and triers (40%). By age 23, the trajectories merged into 2 distinct groups of low- and high-frequency and their standing on age 23 outcomes reflected this grouping. Consideration of these results can help researchers identify at-risk individuals before their smoking becomes too problematic, providing an opportunity for intervention and possible prevention of nicotine dependence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Potential Mediators of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Comorbid Major Depression and Conduct Disorder.

Several possible mediators of a group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for depressed adolescents were examined. Six measures specific to CBT (e.g., negative cognitions, engagement in pleasurable activities) and 2 nonspecific measures (therapeutic alliance, group cohesion) were examined in 93 adolescents with comorbid major depressive disorder and conduct disorder who were randomly assigned to the Adolescent Coping With Depression (CWD-A) course or a life skills control condition. Change on the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (S. D. Hollon & P. C. Kendall, 1980) appeared to mediate treatment effects on depressive symptoms. Therapeutic alliance by the 3rd session was higher among the CWD-A participants but did not predict reductions in depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that reducing negative thinking may be the primary mechanism through which the CWD-A intervention reduces depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of depression on response to comedy: A dynamic facial coding analysis.

Individuals suffering from depression show diminished facial responses to positive stimuli. Recent cognitive research suggests that depressed individuals may appraise emotional stimuli differently than do nondepressed persons. Prior studies do not indicate whether depressed individuals respond differently when they encounter positive stimuli that are difficult to avoid. The authors investigated dynamic responses of individuals varying in both history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and current depressive symptomatology (N = 116) to robust positive stimuli. The Facial Action Coding System (Ekman & Friesen, 1978) was used to measure affect-related responses to a comedy clip. Participants reporting current depressive symptomatology were more likely to evince affect-related shifts in expression following the clip than were those without current symptomatology. This effect of current symptomatology emerged even when the contrast focused only on individuals with a history of MDD. Specifically, persons with current depressive symptomatology were more likely than those without current symptomatology to control their initial smiles with negative affect-related expressions. These findings suggest that integration of emotion science and social cognition may yield important advances for understanding depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Course of Psychological Disorders in the 1st Year After Cancer Diagnosis.

This study investigated the relationship between acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid anxiety, depressive, and substance use disorders over the first 12-month period following a cancer diagnosis. Individuals recently diagnosed with 1st onset head and neck or lung malignancy were assessed for ASD within the initial month following their diagnosis and reassessed for PTSD and other psychological disorders at both 6 months and 12 months following their cancer diagnosis. The incidence for PTSD at 12 months (14%) was lower than the incidence for other anxiety (20%) and depressive (20%) disorders. This study points to the need for the development of valid therapeutic interventions to assist this population in the 1st year following their diagnosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial functioning of young adults who have experienced and recovered from major depressive disorder during adolescence.

The authors examined whether adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) was associated with difficulties in young adult functioning and whether differences would remain significant after accounting for nonmood disorder, MDD recurrence, functioning in adolescence, or current mood state. A total of 941 participants were assessed twice during adolescence and at age 24. In unadjusted analyses, adolescent MDD was associated with most young adult functioning measures. Associations were not due to interactions with adolescent comorbidity, but differences in global functioning and mental health treatment appeared as a result of MDD recurrence. Accounting for levels of functioning in adolescence or for current depression at age 24 eliminated the remaining associations. The implications of these findings for efforts to prevent MDD in adolescence are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood Context, Personality, and Stressful Life Events as Predictors of Depression Among African American Women.

The authors tested neighborhood context, negative life events, and negative affectivity as predictors of the onset of major depression among 720 African American women. Neighborhood-level economic disadvantage (e.g., percentage of residents below the poverty line) and social disorder (e.g., delinquency, drug use) predicted the onset of major depression when controlling for individual-level demographic characteristics. Neighborhood-level disadvantage/disorder interacted with negative life events, such that women who experienced recent negative life events and lived in high disadvantage/disorder neighborhoods were more likely to become depressed than were those who lived in more benign settings, both concurrently and over a 2-year period. Neighborhood disadvantage/disorder can be viewed as a vulnerability factor that increases susceptibility to depression following the experience of negative life events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Study of the Social Security Work Incentives and Their Relation to Perceived Barriers to Work Among Persons With Psychiatric Disability.

Objective: To study use and awareness of the Social Security Work Incentives (SSWIs) and to obtain empirical data on barriers to returning to work. Study Design: Using parallel surveys and multiple sampling and recruitment strategies, the authors administered a brief survey about the SSWIs. Participants: Persons with a psychiatric disability (n=539), service providers (n=120), and family members (n=174). Results: All groups registered the greatest concern about the loss of health insurance; this and other concerns were perceived as serious barriers to returning to work. There were differences in the perceptions of the 3 groups about the importance of disincentives to work and differences among consumers by demographic characteristics. Conclusions: Consumers, family members, and providers of services need more information about the work incentives, particularly if the goals of the new Ticket to Work legislation are to be realized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using Taxometric Analysis to Distinguish a Small Latent Taxon From a Latent Dimension With Positively Skewed Indicators: The Case of Involuntary Defeat Syndrome.

Joining the debate on the structure of depression, S. R. H. Bearh and N. Amir (2003) analyzed college students' responses to 6 Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) items with predominantly somatic content and concluded that they identified a small latent taxon corresponding to involuntary defeat syndrome. An exact replication of these analyses yielded virtually identical taxometric results, but parallel analyses of simulated taxonic and dimensional comparison data matching the intercorrelations and skewed distributions of the BDI items showed the results to be more consistent with dimensional than with taxonic latent structure. Analyses in a clinical sample with nonskewed indicators further supported a dimensional interpretation. The authors discuss methodological strategies for conducting and interpreting taxometric analyses under the adverse conditions commonly encountered in psychopathology research, including skewed indicators and small putative taxa. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)