Neuropsychological and interpersonal antecedents of youth depression

Abstract

This research examined neuropsychological and interpersonal factors that jointly confer vulnerability to youth depression. We proposed that (1) a reduced posterior right-hemisphere bias during the processing of facial expressions contributes to subsequent depressive symptoms in youth, and (2) maladaptive responses to interpersonal stress account for this association. Drawing from theory and research indicating sex differences in rates of hemispheric development, we also investigated sex differences in the associations among a reduced posterior right-hemisphere bias, maladaptive responses to interpersonal stress, and depressive symptoms. Hypotheses were examined in a longitudinal study of 95 4th to 8th graders (M age=12.33, SD=1.10). Results supported the notion that a reduced posterior right-hemisphere bias confers vulnerability to depressive symptoms over time in a sex-specific fashion, and implicate maladaptive stress responses as an explanatory mechanism.