Determinants of Excessive Reassurance-Seeking: Adolescents’ Internalized Distress, Friendship Conflict, and Inhibitory Control as Prospective Predictors

Abstract

Substantial research suggests that excessive reassurance-seeking behavior is associated with exacerbations in depressive symptoms and later interpersonal rejection, yet remarkably few studies have examined predictors of this maladaptive social behavior. This study proposed and examined a diathesis stress model suggesting that beyond the effects of prior internalized distress, a combination of poor inhibitory control and dyadic friendship conflict may be especially relevant predictors of adolescents’ excessive reassurance-seeking behavior. Longitudinal associations were examined in a sample of 865 adolescents (54.5% female, 22.2% African American, 23.1% Latinx) who completed self-reported measures of depressive rumination/intrusive thoughts, depressive symptoms, loneliness, friendship conflict, and a performance-based measure of inhibitory control at baseline, as well as a measure of excessive reassurance-seeking at baseline and 2 years later. Results initially revealed a prospective effect of depressive rumination/intrusive thoughts on later excessive reassurance-seeking, consistent with prior work. Final results yielded only a significant interaction effect, revealing that higher levels of friendship conflict coupled with low levels of inhibitory control were associated longitudinally with higher levels of excessive reassurance-seeking. Findings suggest that inhibitory control may moderate the association between adolescents’ interpersonal conflict and their excessive reassurance-seeking.