Daily depression and cognitions about stress: evidence for a traitlike depressogenic cognitive style and the prediction of depressive symptoms in a prospective daily diary study

The authors examined the stability and dynamic structure of negative cognitions made to naturalistic stressors and the prediction of depressive symptoms in a daily diary study. Young adults reported on dispositional depression vulnerabilities at baseline, including a depressogenic cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, rumination, neuroticism, and initial depression, and then completed short diaries recording the inferences they made to the most negative event of the day along with their experience of depressive symptoms every day for 35 consecutive days. Daily cognitions about stressors exhibited moderate stability across time. A traitlike model, rather than a contextual one, explained this pattern of stability best. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that individuals' dispositional depressogenic cognitive style, neuroticism, and their daily negative cognitions about stressors predicted fluctuations in daily depressive symptoms. Dispositional neuroticism and negative cognitive style interacted with daily negative cognitions in different ways to predict daily depressive symptoms.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory and chronic interpersonal stress as predictors of the course of depression in adolescents

This study investigated whether overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) predicts the course of depression in adolescents. As part of a larger longitudinal study of risk for emotional disorders, 55 adolescents with a past history of major depressive disorder or minor depressive disorder completed the Autobiographical Memory Test. Fewer specific memories predicted the subsequent onset of a major depressive episode (MDE) over a 16-month follow-up period, even when covarying baseline depressive symptoms. This main effect was qualified by an interaction between specific memories and chronic interpersonal stress: Fewer specific memories predicted greater risk of MDE onset over follow-up at high (but not low) levels of chronic interpersonal stress. Thus, our findings suggest that OGM, in interaction with chronic interpersonal stress, predicts the course of depression among adolescents, and highlight the importance of measuring interpersonal stress in OGM research.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory and chronic interpersonal stress as predictors of the course of depression in adolescents

This study investigated whether overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) predicts the course of depression in adolescents. As part of a larger longitudinal study of risk for emotional disorders, 55 adolescents with a past history of major depressive disorder or minor depressive disorder completed the Autobiographical Memory Test. Fewer specific memories predicted the subsequent onset of a major depressive episode (MDE) over a 16-month follow-up period, even when covarying baseline depressive symptoms. This main effect was qualified by an interaction between specific memories and chronic interpersonal stress: Fewer specific memories predicted greater risk of MDE onset over follow-up at high (but not low) levels of chronic interpersonal stress. Thus, our findings suggest that OGM, in interaction with chronic interpersonal stress, predicts the course of depression among adolescents, and highlight the importance of measuring interpersonal stress in OGM research.     

Disentangling the prospective relations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms

In a four-wave, cohort-longitudinal design with a community sample of 515 children and adolescents (grades 2 through 9), this study examined the longitudinal structure of and prospective interrelations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms. Multigroup structural equation modeling generated four major findings. First, the longitudinal structures of maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms consist of a single time-invariant factor and a series of time-varying factors. Second, evidence supported a model in which depressive symptoms predicted negative cognitions but not the reverse. Third, the time-invariant components of cognition and depression were highly correlated. Fourth, the strength of the depression-to-cognition relation increased with age. Implications regarding the mechanisms underlying clinical interventions with depressed children are discussed.     

The role of social stressors and interpersonal orientation in explaining the longitudinal relation between externalizing and depressive symptoms

The authors examined the longitudinal association between externalizing and depressive symptoms using a sample of 185 young adolescents whose mothers had histories of depression. The relation between externalizing behaviors in 6th grade and depressive symptoms a year later was partially mediated by dependent social stressors. Moreover, consistent with the personality-event congruence hypothesis, this mediation model was particularly true for children with high levels of interpersonal orientation (Neediness and Connectedness). In contrast, social stressors that were judged to be independent of the children's behavior, as well as both dependent and independent nonsocial stressors, did not mediate the longitudinal relation between externalizing and depressive symptoms.     

Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression in Canadian and Chinese Adolescents

The goal of the current study was to compare diathesis-stress and transactional models of cognitive vulnerability to depression in samples of Canadian (n = 118) and Chinese (n = 405) adolescents. We utilized a six-month multi-wave, longitudinal design in order to examine whether (a) perceived control moderated the association between the occurrence of dependent interpersonal stressors and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., a diathesis-stress perspective) and (b) dependent interpersonal stressors mediated the association between perceived control and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., a transactional perspective). Results from idiographic, time-lagged, hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that for Canadian adolescents both diathesis-stress and transactional models were significant predictors of depressive symptomology. When examining the diathesis-stress model, boys, but not girls, who reported lower perceived control, reported higher levels of depressive symptoms following the occurrence of dependent interpersonal stress. Gender differences, however, were not present in the transactional model. In contrast, transactional, but not diathesis-stress, models were significant in Chinese adolescents, and gender differences did not emerge. Overall, these results may reflect culturally-relevant differences in the etiology of depression in Canadian and Chinese adolescents.     

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.     

Transactional Relationships among Cognitive Vulnerabilities, Stressors, and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence

The transactional cognitive vulnerability to stress model Hankin & Abramson (Psychological Bulletin, 127:773–796, 2001) extends the traditional diathesis-stress model by proposing that the relationships among cognitions, depressive symptoms, and stressors are dynamic and bidirectional. In this study three different pathways among these variables were assessed simultaneously: (1) cognitive vulnerabilities and stressors as predictors of depressive symptoms (vulnerability model), (2) depressive symptoms and cognitive vulnerabilities as predictors of stressors (stress generation model), and (3) depressive symptoms and stressors as predictors of cognitive vulnerabilities (consequence model). A fully cross-lagged design panel was employed with 1,187 adolescents (545 girls and 642 boys, Mean Age?=?13.42 years) who were assessed at two time points separated by 6 months. They completed measures of cognitive vulnerabilities (maladaptive schema domains and negative inferential style), stressors, and depressive symptoms. Inferential style and schemas of the disconnection and rejection domain predicted prospective increases in depressive symptoms. Initial levels of depressive symptoms and most cognitive vulnerabilities predicted greater stress generation. Initial levels of stressors and depressive symptoms predicted an increase in negative inferential style and maladaptive schema domains over time. These bidirectional relationships were mostly similar for boys and girls, although there were a few gender differences. The findings support a transactional model with reciprocal relationships among stress, depressive symptoms, and cognitive vulnerabilities. Transactional implications for depression interventions among adolescents are discussed.     

Negative mood,depressive symptoms,and major depression after smoking cessation treatment in smokers with a history of major depressive disorder

Negative mood, depressive symptoms, and major depressive episodes (MDEs) were examined in 179 smokers with a history of major depression in a trial comparing standard smoking cessation treatment to treatment incorporating cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression (CBT-D). Early lapses were associated with relatively large increases in negative mood on quit date. Mood improved in the 2 weeks after quit date among those returning to regular smoking but not among those smoking moderately. Continuous abstinence was associated with short- and long-term reductions in depressive symptoms. MDE incidence during follow-up was 15.3% and was not associated with abstinence. Unexpected was that CBT-D was associated with greater negative mood and depressive symptoms and increased MDE risk. Results suggest complex bidirectional associations between affect and smoking outcomes.     

Interpersonal predictors of onset of depression during the transition to adulthood

There is evidence that depression during adolescence and early adulthood is marked by deficits in interpersonal functioning. However, few studies have prospectively examined whether interpersonal difficulties are a risk factor for depression onset, so it is unclear whether these deficits in interpersonal functioning are products or predictors of depression. The present study aimed to clarify the direction of association between interpersonal factors and depression by examining whether social factors longitudinally predicted onset of depression in a diverse sample of young women with no history of depression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for baseline depressive symptoms indicated that poorer family relationship quality and anxious attachment cognitions predicted onset of depressive episodes during the 2‐year period. Further, a wide variety of interpersonal factors predicted depressive symptoms over 6 months, including poor peer and family relationship quality, difficulty being close to others, and difficulty depending on others, controlling for baseline depressive symptoms and college attendance. The results provide evidence for the importance of an interpersonal perspective on vulnerability to depression.     

A cross-cultural investigation of cognitions and depressive symptoms in adolescents

Adolescents (N=2,272) from Hong Kong and the United States provided information regarding their depressive symptoms, cognitions (self-efficacy, negative cognitive errors, and hopelessness), and stressful events between 2 surveys 6 months apart. Depressive symptoms and hopelessness were higher, and self-efficacy and negative cognitive errors were lower in Hong Kong than in the United States. Cognitions were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms and predicted depressive symptoms 6 months later in both cultures. The "reverse" model was also supported with more variance predicted by depressive symptoms to later cognitions than from cognitions to depressive symptoms. There was some support for the hypothesis that self-efficacy is less salient in collective compared with individualistic cultures. These findings extend cognitive theories of depression to a non-Western culture.     

Effect of Parenting and Peer Stressors on Cognitive Vulnerability and Risk for Depression among Youth

Parenting behaviors influence clinical depression among youth, but little is known about the developmental processes that may account for this association. This study investigated whether parenting is associated with the onset of clinical depression and depressive symptoms through negative cognitive style, particularly under conditions of high exposure to stressors, in a community sample of children and adolescents (N = 275; 59% girls). Observational methods were used to assess positive and negative parenting during a laboratory social-evaluative stressor task. Depressive symptoms and clinical depressive episodes were repeatedly assessed over an 18-month prospective follow-up period. Results supported a conditional indirect effect in which low levels of observed positive parenting during a youth stressor task were indirectly associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing an episode of depression and worsening depressive symptoms over the course of the study through youth negative cognitive style, but only for youth who also experienced a high number of peer stressors. These findings elucidate mechanisms through which problematic parenting may contribute to risk for the development of clinical depression during the transition into and across adolescence. Implications for depression interventions are discussed.     

Mediational Pathways Through Which Positive and Negative Emotionality Contribute to Anhedonic Symptoms of Depression: A Prospective Study of Adolescents

This study takes a developmental psychopathological approach to examine mechanisms through which baseline levels of positive emotionality (PE) and negative emotionality (NE) prospectively predict increases in anhedonic depressive symptoms in a community sample of 350 adolescents (6th–10th graders). Dependent stressors mediated the relationship between baseline levels of NE and anhedonic depressive symptoms after controlling for initial symptoms. Supportive relationships mediated the relationship between baseline levels of PE and anhedonic depressive symptoms, after controlling for baseline symptoms. In addition, NE X PE interacted to predict later anhedonic depressive symptoms, such that adolescents with low levels of PE and high levels of NE experienced the greatest increase in anhedonic depressive symptoms. Last, supportive relationships interacted with baseline PE to predict prospective changes in anhedonic depressive symptoms, such that adolescents with low PE and low supportive relationships experienced the greatest increase in anhedonic depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in terms of current theoretical models of the link between temperament and depression. This work was supported, in part, by NIMH grants R03-MH 066845 and 1R01HD054736-01A1 to Benjamin L. Hankin.     

Adult attachment dimensions and specificity of emotional distress symptoms: prospective investigations of cognitive risk and interpersonal stress generation as mediating mechanisms

Three prospective studies examined the relation between adult attachment dimensions and symptoms of emotional distress (anxiety and depression). Across all three studies, avoidant and anxious attachment prospectively predicted depressive symptoms, and anxious attachment was associated concurrently with anxiety symptoms. Study 2 tested a cognitive risk factors mediational model, and Study 3 tested an interpersonal stress generation mediational model. Both cognitive and interpersonal mediating processes were supported. The cognitive risk factors pathway, including elevated dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem, specifically mediated the relation between insecure attachment and prospective elevations in depression but not anxiety. For the interpersonal stress generation model, experiencing additional interpersonal, but not achievement, stressors over time mediated the association between insecure attachment and prospective elevations in depressive and anxious symptoms. Results advance theory and empirical knowledge about why these interpersonal and cognitive mechanisms explain how insecurely attached people become depressed and anxious.     

Co-rumination predicts the onset of depressive disorders during adolescence

The tendency to co-ruminate, or frequently discuss and rehash problems with peers, may serve as one mechanism in the dramatic rise in depression observed during adolescence, particularly among adolescent girls. In the current study, our goal was (a) to test the hypothesis that adolescents' levels of co-rumination would predict the onset of clinically significant depressive episodes over a 2-year follow-up and (b) to determine whether levels of co-rumination would mediate gender differences in risk for depression onset. Both hypotheses were supported. Results of survival analysis revealed that adolescents with higher levels of co-rumination at the initial assessments exhibited a significantly shorter time to depression onset. Levels of co-rumination also mediated the gender difference in time to depression onset. These results were maintained even when adolescents' baseline levels of depressive symptoms and rumination were covaried statistically. Finally, co-rumination also predicted the course of illness in terms of episode severity and duration. Results suggest that co-rumination contributes a unique risk for the development of depression in adolescents.     

Proximal predictors of depressive symptomatology: perceived losses in self-worth and interpersonal domains and introjective and anaclitic mood states

Although much research has demonstrated a relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms, relatively little research has examined the mechanisms that may mediate this relationship. The theories of Blatt (1974), Bowlby (1980), and Gilbert (1992) each propose proximal predictors of depression. In accordance with these theories, this study examined the relationships among perceived losses in self-worth and interpersonal relationships, anaclitic (dependent) and introjective (self-critical) mood states, and depressive symptoms following a significant negative life event. A sample of 172 undergraduate students completed measures of depressive symptoms and depressive vulnerability factors and retrospectively described the worst period of their lives. They also rated the extent to which the events surrounding this worst period affected their self-worth and their relationships with close others. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that the effect of a perceived loss of self-worth on depressive symptoms was fully mediated by both introjective and anaclitic mood states, whereas the effect of a perceived loss of interpersonal relationships on depressive symptoms was fully mediated by an anaclitic mood state. Additionally, perceived losses of self-worth showed a stronger effect on introjective mood in highly self-critical individuals. Findings highlight the importance of perceived losses in both self-worth and interpersonal domains in response to adverse life events and suggest pathways through which perceived losses may affect depressive symptoms.     

Cognitions and depressive symptoms among ethnic minority adolescents

Cognitive models have guided effective intervention strategies in the treatment of depression. However, little is known about the cognitive model's relevance in different cultural ethnic groups in the United States. This study examines the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among cognitive variables and depressive symptoms among African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic adolescents in the United States. Community adolescents (N = 450) ages 14-18 years (African American n = 79; Caucasian n = 273; Hispanic n = 98) provided information regarding their depressive symptoms and cognitions at two surveys, 6 months apart. Self-efficacy, cognitive errors, and hopelessness were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms at baseline. In addition, cognitive errors at baseline, controlling for baseline depressive symptoms and the occurrence of stressful events, predicted depressive symptoms at follow-up. Ethnic differences disappeared when parent education level was controlled. Our findings demonstrate support for the cognitive model of depression across ethnic groups. The importance of controlling for social class when examining ethnic differences in psychological variables is highlighted by our findings.     

Predictors and consequences of childhood depressive symptoms: a 5-year longitudinal study.

A 5-year longitudinal study investigated the interrelationships among children's experiences of depressive symptoms, negative life events, explanatory style, and helplessness behaviors in social and achievement situations. The results revealed that early in childhood, negative events, but not explanatory style, predicted depressive symptoms; later in childhood, a pessimistic explanatory style emerged as a significant predictor of depressive symptoms, alone and in conjunction with negative events. When children suffered periods of depression, their explanatory styles not only deteriorated but remained pessimistic even after their depression subsided, presumably putting them at risk for future episodes of depression. Some children seem repeatedly prone to depressive symptoms over periods of at least 2 years. Depressed children consistently showed helpless behaviors in social and achievement settings.     

Negative life events and substance use moderate cognitive behavioral adolescent depression prevention intervention

Investigate factors that amplify or mitigate the effects of an indicated cognitive behavioral (CB) depression prevention program for adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms. Using data from a randomized trial (Registration No. NCT00183417; n?=?173) in which adolescents (M age =?15.5, SD =?1.2) were assigned to a brief cognitive behavioral prevention program or an educational brochure control condition, we tested whether elevated motivation to reduce depression and initial depressive symptom severity amplified intervention effects and whether negative life events, social support deficits, and substance use attenuated intervention effects. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) indicated differential intervention effects for two of the five examined variables: negative life events and substance use. For adolescents at low and medium levels of substance use or negative life events, the CB intervention produced declines in depressive symptoms relative to controls. However, at high levels of substance use or negative life events, the CB intervention did not significantly reduce depressive symptoms in comparison to controls. Results imply that high-risk adolescents with either high rates of major life stress or initial substance use may require specialized depression prevention efforts.     

Cognitive problem-solving and life event correlates of depressive symptoms in children

This study examined the relationship between a number of cognitive problem-solving and life event variables and depressive symptoms in a sample of non-referred grade school children. The results indicated that higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with an external locus of control, increased levels of objective and subjective life stress, and lower performance levels on an impersonal problem-solving task. Level of depressive symptoms was also found to be inversely related to socioeconomic status as measured by father's occupation. Contrary to prediction, no consistent relationship was found between depression and interpersonal problem-solving ability.This research is based on the first author's master's thesis submitted under the supervision of the second author to the Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia.