A Test of a Cognitive Diathesis—Stress Generation Pathway in Early Adolescent Depression

This study evaluates a pathway for depressive risk that integrates cognitive diathesis-stress and stress-generation theories, following Hankin and Abramson’s (2001, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31(4), 491-504) elaborated cognitive-diathesis transactional stress model. In this model, young adolescents with initial depressive symptoms were hypothesised to experience later stressors that were at least partly dependent on their behaviour. The interaction of cognitive vulnerability, a tendency to make depressogenic attributions and to ruminate, with these dependent stressors was then hypothesised to predict depressive symptoms after 6 months. This model was supported in a sample of 756 young adolescents, with cognitive style and dependent stressors partly mediating the relationship between initial and subsequent depressive symptoms. Cognitive vulnerability was also linked with an increased likelihood of dependent stressors.

Temperament and Risk for Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Mediation by Rumination and Moderation by Effortful Control

The present study examined the relations between temperament, ruminative response style and depressive symptoms both cross-sectionally and prospectively (1 year follow-up) in a community sample of 304 seventh- through tenth-graders. First, higher levels of negative affectivity (NA), lower levels of positive affectivity (PA) and lower levels of effortful control (EC) were found to be associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Second, the association between NA and PA on the one hand and depressive symptoms on the other was significantly moderated by level of EC (low PA and high NA are associated with depressive symptoms only if EC is low) and these relations were moderated by sex in the cross-sectional data. In the prospective data, T1 depressive symptoms and PA predicted T2 depressive symptoms; with EC approaching significance. Third, rumination also predicted T1 as well as T2 depressive symptoms. Finally, support was found for a model of moderated mediation: higher levels of NA were associated with higher levels of ruminative response style, which was in turn related to more depressive symptoms but only in individuals with low EC and this was true for the cross-sectional as well as the prospective data albeit with noteworthy differences in pattern. These findings confirm and extend previous findings on the associations between temperament, response styles and depression in adolescence and, as such, add to the growing body of research providing support for the applicability of cognitive vulnerability theories to depression in younger populations.

The Role of Inflexible Friendship Beliefs,Rumination, and Low Self-worth in Early Adolescents’ Friendship Jealousy and Adjustment

Two focal social cognitive processes were evaluated in a structural model for their direct and indirect roles in early adolescents’ jealousy surrounding their closest friend in a sample of 325 early adolescents (169 girls and 156 boys) ages 11–14 years. Individuals who are rigid and unrealistic about meeting their friendship needs were more vulnerable to feelings of jealousy than individuals who think more flexibly. Inflexible individuals also engage in more jealousy-driven surveillance and other problem behavior towards their friends. Stronger jealous feelings and behavior were related, in turn, to greater conflict with friends and to a vulnerability to emotional maladjustment. In addition, young adolescents who tended to ruminate over friendship problems were also more vulnerable to jealousy. Inflexible attitudes and friendship rumination were positively associated. Results extend recent models of friendship jealousy that focus only on early adolescents’ self-worth.

Personality as a Prospective Vulnerability to Dysphoric Symptoms Among College Students: Proposed Mechanisms

Personality and psychopathology have long been associated; however, the mechanisms that account for this link are not well understood. Stress generation and cognitive vulnerability are examined as potential mechanisms to explain the association between negative emotionality and dysphoria. To evaluate these mechanisms, college students completed measures of personality, dysfunctional attitudes, negative cognitive style, dysphoric symptoms, and negative events. Two years later the same students reported on the occurrence of negative events and levels of dysphoric symptoms that they had experienced over the 2-year follow-up period. Consistent with hypotheses, negative emotionality predicted prospective increases in dysphoric symptoms and the generation of more stressors over time. Both dysfunctional attitudes and negative cognitive style interacted with these additional stressors to predict prospective elevations in dysphoria, and these cognitive vulnerability–stress components partially mediated the association between negative emotionality and future elevations of dysphoric symptoms.

A Comparison of Stress Measures in Children and Adolescents: A Self-Report Checklist Versus an Objectively Rated Interview

A self-report checklist assessing the occurrence of stressful life events in children and adolescents' lives was compared to an objectively rated interview to determine whether the checklist would introduce over-reporting of events or over-rating of event severity as a function of child/parent depressive symptoms, cognitive vulnerability, or anxiety. Participants completed the Children's Life Events Scale (CLES), the Life Events Interview (LEI), and questionnaires assessing cognitive vulnerability and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Findings yielded a positive association between the checklist and the interview. Contrary to hypotheses, depressive symptoms, cognitive vulnerability, and anxiety were not associated with over-reporting of events. Anxiety was associated with over-rating of event severity in parents but not children. Findings suggest that the checklist and interview may be equally viable approaches to assessing the occurrence of life events. Findings have mixed implications with regard to assessing event severity, as subjective reports may be systematically influenced by anxiety.

Cognitive and Interpersonal Predictors of Stress Generation in Children of Affectively Ill Parents

Stress generation is a process in which individuals, through their depressive symptoms, personal characteristics, and/or behaviors, contribute to the occurrence of stressful life events. While this process has been well documented in adults, few studies have examined it in children. The present study examines whether cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability factors to depression contribute to stress generation in children, independent of their current depressive symptoms. Participants included 140 children (ages 6 to 14) and one of their parents. During an initial assessment, children completed self-report measures assessing cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability factors to depression. Children and their parents also completed measures assessing depressive symptoms. One year later, children and their parents participated in a semi-structured interview assessing the occurrence of stressful life events in the past year. Multi-level modeling results provided strong support for the stress generation process in children of affectively ill parents and highlight the importance of considering gender and age moderation effects.

Experimental effects of rumination styles on salivary cortisol responses

Emerging research suggests that rumination increases risk for negative health outcomes. In the first experiment to investigate cortisol responses during angry rumination, participants were provoked and induced to engage in self-focused rumination, provocation-focused rumination, or distraction. Consistent with social threat theory, self-focused rumination maintained high levels of cortisol following provocation, whereas provocation-focused rumination and distraction facilitated decreases in cortisol. However, even within the provocation-focused rumination condition, adopting an emotionally reactive, self-immersed perspective was associated with higher levels of cortisol as were thoughts about the self. Individual differences in displaced aggression but not general aggression were also positively associated with cortisol levels in the provocation-focused condition. The present findings shed light on rumination styles and cortisol responses in ways that may have long-term consequences for health and well-being.

Depressed Adolescents and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders: Are There Differences in the Presentation of Depression?

Patterns and correlates of comorbidity, as well as differences in manifest depressive profiles were investigated in a sample of depressed adolescents. A sub-sample of the youth were characterized as belonging to either a Pure depression group, an Internalizing group (depression and co-occurring internalizing disorders), or an Externalizing group (depression and co-occurring externalizing disorders). Item response theory (IRT) and differential item functioning (DIF) were used to assess whether the depressed adolescents from the different comorbidity groups presented with different depressive symptoms. Results indicated that the comorbidity groups were meaningfully distinct in terms of psychosocial correlates as well as showed differences in depressive symptom profiles as informed by DIF analyses. In particular, the comorbidity groups differed in terms of presentation of psychomotor changes and cognitive impairments. Implications for assessment are discussed.

The Association Between Observed Parental Emotion Socialization and Adolescent Self-Medication

The current study examined the moderating influence of observed parental emotion socialization (PES) on self-medication in adolescents. Strengths of the study include the use of a newly developed observational coding system further extending the study of PES to adolescence, the use of an experience sampling method to assess the daily covariation between negative affect and substance use, and a focus on PES styles defined by the interaction of emotion-dismissing and emotion-coaching behaviors. Using multi-leveling modeling, we tested PES as a moderator of daily negative mood-substance use relation in a sample of 65 elevated-risk adolescents (48% male, 58% Caucasian, with a median age of 14). Results showed a three-way interaction between emotion-coaching PES, emotion-dismissing PES and daily negative mood in predicting daily substance use. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of PES styles and their effects on self-medication through compromised emotion regulation and interpersonal processes.

高中生沉思与应激性生活事件对抑郁症状的影响:1年追踪研究

探讨沉思及沉思亚型与应激性生活事件的交互作用对抑郁症状的影响。采用流调中心用抑郁量表、青少年生活事件问卷和沉思反应量表等自评量表对527名高中生的抑郁症状、应激性生活事件和沉思进行评估,随后每3个月测评一次抑郁症状和应激性生活事件的发生情况,追踪调查1年,用多层线性模型分析数据。结果表明:沉思和强迫性冥思对抑郁症状的主效应显著,而反思不显著;沉思、强迫性冥思和反思与生活事件对抑郁症状的交互作用均不显著。结论:应激性生活事件和强迫性冥思会加重抑郁症状,而反思没有加重抑郁症状;沉思及亚型均不会改变应激性生活事件对抑郁症状的影响程度。     

Anxiety Sensitivity Moderates Relations Among Tobacco Smoking,Panic Attack Symptoms,and Bodily Complaints in Adolescents

The present study evaluated associations among smoking and anxiety sensitivity (fear of anxiety and anxiety related sensations) in predicting panic attack symptomatology, somatic complaints, and depressive symptomatology in a community sample of adolescents (ages 12 to 17 years; N=206). As predicted, the combination of high levels of anxiety sensitivity and being a current smoker predicted panic symptomatology and somatic complaints, but not depressive symptomatology. These findings suggest anxiety sensitivity may moderate the relation between smoking and prototypical panic psychopathology variables (panic attacks and somatic complaints) even after controlling for gender and negative affectivity, and that these associations are specific to panic-relevant processes. The primary implication of the study findings is that there may be segments of the adolescent population who are at relatively greater risk for panic-related problems by virtue of individual differences in AS and smoking status.

Terrorism,Post-traumatic Stress,Coping Strategies,and Spiritual Outcomes

This mail survey measured post-traumatic stress symptoms, spiritual and non-spiritual coping strategies, and positive spiritual outcomes following the tragedies of 9/11/01 in a national, random sample of 1,056 Presbyterians. Respondents reported mild to moderate degrees of re-experiencing and hyper-arousal symptoms of post-traumatic stress, unrelated to location or knowing someone involved. People experiencing high stress used greater frequency and variety of both spiritual and non-spiritual types of coping strategies. Positive spiritual outcomes were remarkably related to positive spiritual coping strategies, in contrast to no association with negative coping. This study illustrates the significant degree of post-traumatic stress experienced with vicarious exposure and a wide spectrum of coping strategies used following the major terrorist attacks.

Reliability and Validity of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality Among Adolescents

Background Developed for use in health research, the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) consists of brief measures of a broad range of religiousness and spirituality (R/S) dimensions. It has established psychometric properties among adults, but little is known about its appropriateness for use with adolescents. Purpose We assessed the psychometric properties of the BMMRS among adolescents. Method We recruited a racially diverse (85% non-White) sample of 305 adolescents aged 12–18 years (median 16 yrs, IQR 14–17) from 3 urban medical clinics; 93 completed a retest 1 week later. We assessed internal consistency and test–retest reliability. We assessed construct validity by examining how well the measures discriminated groups expected to differ based on self-reported religious preference, and how they related to a hypothesized correlate, depressive symptoms. Religious preference was categorized into “No religion/Atheist” (11%), “Don’t know/Confused” (9%), or “Named a religion” (80%). Results Responses to multi-item measures were generally internally consistent (alpha ≥0.70 for 12/16 measures) and stable over 1 week (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.70 for 14/16). Forgiveness, Negative R/S Coping, and Commitment items showed lower internal cohesiveness. Scores on most measures were higher (p < 0.05) among those who “Named a religion” compared to the “No religion/Atheist” group. Forgiveness, Commitment, and Anticipated Support from members of one’s congregation were inversely correlated with depressive symptoms, while BMMRS measures assessing negative R/S experiences (Negative R/S Coping, Negative Interactions with others in congregation, Loss in Faith) were positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Conclusions These findings suggest that most BMMRS measures are reliable and valid for use among adolescents.

A Preventive Coping Perspective of Individual Response to Terrorism in Canada

A plethora of studies on terrorism underscores the challenges of managing the psychological and behavioural impacts of terrorist events. This literature also emphasizes the idea that the global pending threat of terrorism, prior to the occurrence of any event, may also give rise to significant reactions among members of the public. Drawing from the literature on proactive coping, the current study presents the results of factor analyses performed on sections of a national survey that assessed appraisals of as well as actual responses to the threat of terrorism in Canada (N = 1,502). Findings revealed that items assessing individual response to terrorism were represented by three factors in this context: Individual Preparedness, Information Seeking, and Avoidance Behaviour. Further analyses demonstrated a tendency for actual preparedness behaviours to be associated with decreased psychological stress, and actual avoidance behaviours to be associated with heightened psychological stress. Furthermore, the divergent patterns of relationships of terrorism response appraisals and corresponding actual responses with psychological stress emphasized the need to distinguish different stages in the process of preventive coping with terrorism. Theoretical and practical implications of findings for individual preparedness in Canada are discussed.

Exploring Criterion Confounding in the Measurement of Binge Eating Symptoms and Negative Affect

Common measures of eating disorder symptoms contain affect-related items. When associations between negative affect and eating disorder symptoms are examined, criterion confounding is possible. The current study explored whether criterion confounding biases estimates of relations between symptoms of binge eating and negative affect. Data were collected from first-year university student women via 14-day web-based daily diaries. The Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey (MEBS) measured daily symptoms of binge eating, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) measured daily negative affect. The inclusion of affect-related items in the MEBS biased mean level tests of negative affect, correlations of negative affect with symptoms of binge eating, and associations between the likelihood of reporting behavioral symptoms of binge eating and same-day negative affect. Converging results demonstrated the need to measure associated features and risk factors separately from problematic eating behavior symptoms.

Coping with Social Stress: Implications for Psychopathology in Young Adolescent Girls

This study investigated the impact of social stress on symptoms of psychopathology at the entry into adolescence (111 girls, Mage = 11.84, SD = 0.77). We examined whether peer stress and pubertal timing were associated with internalizing distress and aggression, and whether responses to stress and cortisol reactivity mediated or moderated these associations. Cortisol samples were collected from saliva samples during in-home visits, and the YSR was used to assess psychopathology. Interestingly, pubertal timing demonstrated a trend association with cortisol. Responses to stress mediated the association between social stress and symptoms of internalizing distress and aggression. Specifically, early maturers and girls with higher levels of peer stress exhibited more problematic responses to stress, in turn demonstrating higher levels of internalizing distress and aggression. Significant moderation effects also emerged. For example, early maturers who experienced higher levels of emotional/cognitive numbing in response to peer stress were at greater risk for aggression. Findings identify coping strategies that may be used in evidence-based programming to help girls transition more successfully into adolescence will be discussed.

The Role of Perceived Social Support and Stress in the Type A Cognition-Symptom Relationship

The two main objectives of this research were to determine whether Type A cognitions are related to a broader range of symptoms than has traditionally been studied and to determine possible mediating variables. Past research and theory suggest that Type A individuals not only experience but also generate stress and interpersonal conflict (i.e., in keeping with a psychosocial vulnerability model). This psychosocial vulnerability may put Type A individuals at greater risk of experiencing a wide array of physical and psychological symptoms well beyond coronary heart disease (CHD), the health outcome typically investigated. Stress, interpersonal and non-interpersonal in nature, and perceived social support, were explored as possible mediators in the Type A cognition-symptoms relationship using structural equation modelling (SEM) in a university sample. Non-interpersonal stress and interpersonal stress mediated both the Type A cognition-psychological symptoms relationship and the Type A cognition-physical symptoms relationship. However, perceived social support only mediated the Type A cognition-psychological symptoms relationship. Results indicate that Type A individuals may experience psychosocial vulnerability, particularly reporting stress, which may put them at risk for the experience of negative health outcomes. Implications for cognitive therapy are discussed.

Beyond the Class Norm: Bullying Behavior of Popular Adolescents and its Relation to Peer Acceptance and Rejection

This study examined to what extent bullying behavior of popular adolescents is responsible for whether bullying is more or less likely to be accepted or rejected by peers (popularity-norm effect) rather than the behavior of all peers (class norm). Specifically, the mean level of bullying by the whole class (class norm) was split into behavior of popular adolescents (popularity-norm) and behavior of non-popular adolescents (non-popularity-norm), and examined in its interaction with individual bullying on peer acceptance and peer rejection. The data stem from a peer-nominations subsample of TRAILS, a large population-based sample of adolescent boys and girls (N = 3312). The findings of multilevel regression analyses demonstrated that the negative impact of individual bullying on peer acceptance and the positive impact on peer rejection were particularly weakened by bullying by popular adolescents. These results place the class-norm effects found in previous person-group dissimilarity studies in a different light, suggesting that particularly bullying by popular adolescents is related to the social status attached to bullying.

Testing the cognitive catalyst model of depression: does rumination amplify the impact of cognitive diatheses in response to stress?

Recent studies have found that rumination functions as a catalyst of cognitive vulnerability to depression. Specifically, these studies have reported synergistic effects between rumination and negative cognitive content (beliefs and attitudes), such that rumination amplifies the association between negative cognitive content and depression (Ciesla & Roberts, 2002, 2007; Robinson & Alloy, 2003). The current study extended this work by testing whether cognitive vulnerability involving the combination of negative cognitive content and rumination increases the impact of stress on the course of depressive symptoms. One hundred ninety-one college students with elevated depressive symptoms participated in a two-wave longitudinal study. Results indicate that the maintenance of depressive symptoms was predicted by the three-way interaction of negative cognitive content, rumination, and stressful life events. More specifically, students who endorsed both maladaptive cognitive content and a tendency to ruminate were particularly vulnerable to the deleterious impact of life stress.     

Multidimensional Perfectionism and Ruminative Brooding in Current Dysphoria,Anxiety, Worry,and Anger

The current study examined links between dimensions of perfectionism, ruminative and distractive coping, and multiple measures of current distress (dysphoria, anxiety, worry, and anger) in 205 university students. A main goal was to test the hypothesis that perfectionism is related to a new measure of the critical maladaptive component of rumination (i.e., ruminative brooding) that is not confounded with symptoms and confirm that both constructs function as non-specific vulnerabilities for emotional distress. Our study revealed numerous significant findings, including: (1) socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) was the dimension most strongly related to brooding in response to depression and anxiety; (2) SPP, self-oriented perfectionism (SOP), and brooding predicted various indices of distress; (3) SOP predicted anxiety and worry in women, and it predicted dysphoria and anger in men; (4) despite the strong associations between ruminative brooding and distress, perfectionism still accounted for unique variance in distress, and vice-versa. Implications for the issue of the adaptiveness versus maladaptiveness of perfectionism and for counseling perfectionists who fall into the “brooding trap” are discussed.