Abstract
Cognitive mechanisms that characterize or precede depressive symptoms are poorly understood. We investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between risk taking to obtain reward and adolescent depressive symptoms in a large prospective cohort, using the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT). We also explored sex differences. The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is an ongoing UK study, following the lives of 19 000 individuals born 2000/02. The CGT was completed at ages 11 (n = 12 355) and 14 (n = 10 578). Our main exposure was the proportion of points gambled, when the odds of winning were above chance (risk-taking to obtain reward). Outcomes were emotional symptoms (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ) at age 11 and depressive symptoms (short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, sMFQ) at age 14. We calculated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations, using linear regressions. In univariable models, there was evidence of cross-sectional associations between risk-taking and SDQ/sMFQ scores, but these associations disappeared after we adjusted for sex. Longitudinally, there was weak evidence of an association between risk-taking and depressive symptoms in females only [a 20-point increase in risk-taking at age 11 was associated with a reduction of 0.31 sMFQ points at age 14 (95% CI -0.60 to -0.02)]. At both time-points, females were less risk-taking than males. We found no convincing evidence of a relationship between risk-taking to obtain reward and depressive symptoms. There were large sex differences in risk-taking, but these do not appear to contribute to the female preponderance of depressive symptoms in adolescence.
Highlights
Depression is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and by 2030 is predicted to be the leading cause of disability in high-income countries (Mathers & Loncar, 2006)
The prevalence of depression has risen among young women in the past two decades (Mcmanus, Bebbington, Jenkins, & Brugha, 2016) and a better understanding of the causes of the gender difference in depressive symptoms would be informative for prevention
We found strong evidence that, for every 20-point increase in risk-taking at age 11, depressive symptoms decreased by 0.55 of an MFQ point at age 14
Summary
Depression is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and by 2030 is predicted to be the leading cause of disability in high-income countries (Mathers & Loncar, 2006). We investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between risk taking to obtain reward and adolescent depressive symptoms in a large prospective cohort, using the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT). There was evidence of cross-sectional associations between risk-taking and SDQ/sMFQ scores, but these associations disappeared after we adjusted for sex. There was weak evidence of an association between risk-taking and depressive symptoms in females only [a 20-point increase in risk-taking at age 11 was associated with a reduction of 0.31 sMFQ points at age 14 (95% CI −0.60 to −0.02)]. At both timepoints, females were less risk-taking than males. There were large sex differences in risk-taking, but these do not appear to contribute to the female preponderance of depressive symptoms in adolescence
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