Depression In Young Adolescents Research Articles

Turning to friends in preference to parents for support in early adolescence: does this contribute to the gender difference in depressive symptoms?

IntroductionBased on established evidence of gender differences in friendship patterns, and the vulnerability associated with early reliance on friends, we hypothesized that in 13-year-olds, a preference for turning to friends rather than parents for emotional support contributes to the gender difference in depressive symptoms.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, 671 adolescents (53.7% girls; mean age 13.11 ± 0.52 years) in a UK birth cohort [Wirral Child Health and Development Study (WCHADS)] reported turning to their parents and to their friends when distressed [Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI)] and depressed [Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ)]. Preferentially turning to friends was assessed as turning to friends minus turning to parents for support. Analyses used path analysis using the gsem command in Stata.ResultsGirls had higher depressive symptoms than boys (p < .001). Consistent with the hypotheses, girls had higher scores than boys for preferentially turning to friends (p < .001). Preferentially turning to friends was associated with higher depressive symptoms (p < .001), and this mediated the gender difference in depressive symptoms (p < .001). The association between preferentially turning to friends and depressive symptoms was stronger for girls than for boys (p = .004).ConclusionsIn young adolescents, preferentially turning to friends over parents when distressed is common, and the association between preferentially turning and depressive symptoms is markedly higher in girls than in boys. This reflects either a gender difference in social vulnerability to depression or a greater impact of depression on the reliance on friends instead of parents in girls. While clarifying the directions of influence requires prospective study, these findings provide the first evidence that the assessment of depression in young adolescents should consider the degree of reliance on friends and parents.

Physical Fitness for Depression in Adolescents and Adults: A Meta-Analysis.

Depression has been recognized as one of the most significant factors affecting mental health status. For this reason, several efforts to prevent and reduce depression in all ages have been made in various domains to identify the relevant factors as well as the causes of depression. The objective of this meta-analysis was to examine the effect size between physical fitness and depression in adolescents and adults. A systematic search for meta-analysis (2009-2020) was performed using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and RISS, with key terms such as depression, depressive illness, and physical fitness or fitness. Overall, 19 out of 448 articles were included in the meta-analysis with strict inclusion criteria. The effect size is a medium between physical fitness and depression in adolescents and adults. Two fitness factors, namely cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength, are more relevant for alleviating depression in adolescents and adults, whereas agility was not related to depression. In particular, the cardiovascular fitness factor has an impact on almost all ages; however, muscular strength has less impact on depression in young adolescents, but has a great impact on older adults' depression. The effect size in this study is a medium between physical fitness and depression in adolescents and adults. Thus, more longitudinal and clinical studies with larger sample sizes are needed to clarify the relationship between physical fitness and depression.

Meta-Analysis: Effectiveness of SSRIs vs SSRIs in conjunction with CBT in treating depression in young adolescents


 Objective: To compare the efficacy of SSRI medication alone and SSRI+CBT combined.
 Methods: NCBI Pubmed, DARE, CSDR and NGC were searched October-November 2019. The population size, as well as the base and endpoint CGAS mean and standard deviation from the three studies included, are recorded. Statistical analysis was done in RStudio with the "meta" package.
 Results: For the SSRI only, the effect size was -1.82 with a 95% confidence interval between -2.28 and -1.37. For the SSRI and CBT combined, the effect size was -1.68 with a 95% confidence interval between -2.39 and -0.98. The effect size for both SSRI and SSRI + CBT didn't cross the null effect line, but the heterogeneity exceeds 50%. The result for the comparison of post SSRI vs. SSRI + CBT showed the effect size of -0.05 with a 95% confidence interval between -0.23 and 0.12. The size effect did cross the null effect line, but the heterogeneity was less than 50%.
 Conclusion: Both methods were shown to be effective. However, due to statistical inconsistencies, it couldn’t be concluded whether the combination of SSRI and CBT is better than treatment with SSRI alone.

Sleep problems predict comorbid externalizing behaviors and depression in young adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience high rates of sleep problems and are also at increased risk for experiencing comorbid mental health problems. This study provides an initial examination of the 1-year prospective association between sleep problems and comorbid symptoms in youth diagnosed with ADHD. Participants were 81 young adolescents (75 % male) carefully diagnosed with ADHD and their parents. Parents completed measures of their child's sleep problems and ADHD symptoms, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms, and general externalizing behavior problems at baseline (M age = 12.2) and externalizing behaviors were assessed again 1 year later. Adolescents completed measures of anxiety and depression at both time-points. Medication use was not associated with sleep problems or comorbid psychopathology symptoms. Regression analyses indicated that, above and beyond demographic characteristics, ADHD symptom severity, and initial levels of comorbidity, sleep problems significantly predicted greater ODD symptoms, general externalizing behavior problems, and depressive symptoms 1 year later. Sleep problems were not concurrently or prospectively associated with anxiety. Although this study precludes making causal inferences, it does nonetheless provide initial evidence of sleep problems predicting later comorbid externalizing behaviors and depression symptoms in youth with ADHD. Additional research is needed with larger samples and multiple time-points to further examine the interrelations of sleep problems and comorbidity.

Testing Reciprocal Longitudinal Relations Between Peer Victimization and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adolescents

A 2-wave longitudinal study of young adolescents was used to test whether peer victimization predicts depressive symptoms, depressive symptoms predict peer victimization, or the 2 constructs show reciprocal relations. Participants were 598 youths in Grades 3 through 6, ages 8 to 14 (M = 10.9, SD = 1.2) at Wave 1. The sample was 50.7% female and 90.3% Caucasian. Participants completed self-reports of depressive symptoms, and self-reports and peer nomination measures of physical and relational peer victimization at 2 time points separated by 1 year. The results were as follows: (a) depressive symptoms predicted change in both physical and relational victimization, but neither type of peer victimization predicted change in depressive symptoms; (b) depressive symptoms were more predictive of physical victimization for boys than for girls; and (c) boys experienced more physical victimization, and girls experienced more relational victimization. Expression of some depressive symptoms may represent signs of vulnerability. For boys, they may also represent a violation of gender stereotypes. Both factors could be responsible for these effects. Implications for intervention include the possibility that treatment of depression in young adolescents may reduce the likelihood of peer victimization.

A Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Risks for Depressive Symptoms in Children and Young Adolescents.

Youths with high (N = 52) or low cognitive vulnerability (N = 48) for depression were selected from a larger sample (N = 515) of students (7-10 years old), based on their attributional style (AS), negative cognitions (NC), and/or self-competence (SC). Long-term effects of cognitive vulnerabilities on depressive symptoms were examined in a 3-year, three-wave, multiinformant, longitudinal design. Three findings emerged. First, some empirical overlap exists among these three types of cognitive diatheses, especially between NC and SC. Second, the combination of AS, NC, and SC had a significant (but diminishing) relationship to depressive symptoms at 6, 18, and 30 months, primarily due to NC and SC, not AS. Third, interactions between cognitive risk and life events were not significant, suggesting an additive type of diathesis-stress model for depression in young adolescents.

The psychology of depression in young adolescents: A psychoanalytic view of origins, inner workings and implications

This paper addresses the phenomenology of childhood depression as understood from the perspective of psychoanalytic child psychotherapy within National Health Service (NHS) practice. Brief time-limited psychotherapy has a promising outcome in working with severely depressed young people when combined with support for parents and careful attention to the child's social and educational context. The currently planned IMPACT study (Improving Mood-Promoting Access to Collaborative Treatment) led by Professor I. Goodyer will provide an opportunity to explore both the effectiveness of short-term therapy for a large cohort of moderate to severely depressed youngsters and also to research models of underlying mental processes and some of the processes of change in psychotherapy (Fonagy, 2009; Rustin, 2009). Child psychotherapy theory and practice is rooted in both psychoanalytic and developmental frames of reference and has been deeply influenced by Bowlby's work. The importance of aggression and particularly aggressive thoughts, both conscious and unconscious, in understanding depression is also fundamental. Two clinical cases are discussed which are typical of those patients seen in NHS child psychotherapy, and of the type of patients who will be seen in the IMPACT trial. They share serious adverse life histories: one with a focus on childhood abuse and the other on neglect and abandonment. The different nature of these traumatic experiences shapes the nature of the depression which can be observed. The importance of attending to the depressive elements of the co-morbid presentation characteristic of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) patients also needs to be emphasized. Psychotherapy provides an opportunity for containment of unbearable emotion and for the development of mental function which can serve as a bulwark against further breakdown. The conceptualization draws attention to the loss of personal potency which accompanies depression and the consequent risk of life failure in both work and personal spheres.

Prospective relations between rejection and depression in young adolescents.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relations between rejection and depression across 3 years in young adolescents who varied with regard to their risk for depression. The sample consisted of 240 adolescents who were assessed in grades 6, 7, and 8. The assessment of rejection was based on adolescent-, mother-, and teacher-report, and depression assessment was based on adolescent- and mother-report and clinician ratings. Structural equation modeling indicated that rejection prospectively predicted depression. The authors did not find that depression prospectively predicted rejection, but such a relation cannot be ruled out because of strong cross-sectional correlations between depression and rejection.

Self-reported attachment style, attachment quality, and symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adolescents

Abstract The Attachment Questionnaire for Children (AQ-C) is a simplified version of Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) single-item measure of attachment style [Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524]. Briefly, children are provided with three descriptions concerning their feelings about and perception of relationships with other children. Children are instructed to choose the description that applies best to them. In this way, children classify themselves as either securely, avoidantly, or ambivalently attached. The present study investigated the validity of the AQ-C in a sample of 12–14 year-old adolescents ( N =155). Participants were asked to complete the AQ-C, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment as a measure of attachment quality, and scales of anxiety and depression. Results indicated that adolescents who classified themselves as securely attached displayed a higher quality of attachment than adolescents who classified themselves as insecurely (i.e. avoidantly or ambivalently) attached. Furthermore, securely attached adolescents scored significantly lower on anxiety and depression than insecurely attached adolescents. Altogether, these findings support the validity of the AQ-C.

Impulsive-reflective cognitive style, metacognition, and emotion in adolescence.

The study investigated the relationship between reflective or impulsive cognitive style, metacognitive functioning, and depression in young adolescents. Metacognitive functioning (metacognitive knowledge about reading and memory, monitoring of text comprehension) and self-reported depressive feelings were analyzed in a group of subjects who showed a Reflective or Impulsive cognitive style. The sample consisted of 56 junior high-school students (Grades 6, 7, and 8) selected from a larger original group of 61 subjects. We excluded from the original group those with an IQ below 75 on both the Verbal and Performance subscales on the short form of the WISC-R, those reported by teachers to have a severe learning disability, and those that did not complete the test battery due to long absences from school. The reflective-impulsive cognitive style was identified with the Matching Familiar Figures Test-20. Using the median of the distribution for both Latency (17 sec. per item) and Errors (9 errors) on this task, the sample was divided in four partially overlapping subgroups: 16 with Impulsive cognitive style (Latency below the median, Errors above the median), 13 with Reflective cognitive style (Latency above the median, Error below the median), 4 fast and accurate (both scores below the median), and 11 slow and inaccurate (both scores above the median). Twelve subjects with one or both scores coinciding with the critical value (median) were excluded. Analysis showed that subjects with Impulsive cognitive style had significantly lower scores than those with Reflective cognitive style in monitoring of comprehension of text. No differences were found on monitoring by eighth graders, irrespective of cognitive style. No differences between the two groups were found in metacognitive knowledge. Subjects with Impulsive cognitive style had significantly higher scores than subjects with Reflective cognitive style on a self-rating scale for childhood depression, the Children's Depression Inventory. The implications of these data are discussed.

Undesirable life-events and depression in young adolescents

We compared the relationship between individual undesirable life-events and comprehensive life-event factors, as well as major depression in adolescents. Students in four public suburban middle schools were screened for depressive symptomatology and life-events by a self-administered questionnaire. Seven of 21 individual events (parents' divorce, parental job loss, problems between parents, problems between the adolescent and his/her parents, failing a grade in school, school suspension, death of a close friend) and three of six life-event factors (conflict/disappointment, marital discord, maladjustment) were significantly related to depression in univariate models. A multivariate examination of the individual events was difficult to interpret, but examination of the event factors found maladjustment and conflict/disappointment significant. Analyses using the undesirable life-event factors provided a clearer picture of the relationships investigated by grouping related events into a more manageable number of independent categories. Specific combinations of life-events suggest stronger associations with adolescent depression than others. Clinicians may identify youths at risk for depression when specific combinations of undesirable life-events occur.

Depression in young male adolescents

De puberteit is een ontwikkelingsfase die niet alleen in de huiskamer, maar ook onder vakgenoten controversiele gevoelens oproept. Lange tijd heerste er een stereotiepe beeldvorming, als zou het gaan om jongens en meisjes die in de intermenselijke relatie even luidruchtig als ontoegankelijk zijn. Ook al is dit beeld als mythe ontmaskerd, toch vinden veel mensen het moeilijk om met pubers om te gaan. Het is niet verwonderlijk dat juist de psychoanalytische ontwikkelingstheorie, die het intrapsychische proces als uitgangspunt neemt, aandacht besteedt aan deze leeftijdsperiode, die grotendeels geinitieerd wordt door lichamelijke, c.q. hormonale veranderingen, die op zichzelf weer diepgaande intrapsychische en relationele gevolgen hebben. Het proefschrift van Heuves wortelt in deze traditie.

Depression and suicidal ideation in early adolescents

This study sought to determine to what extent depression in young adolescents could be predicted by a variety of demographic and personality measures. A sample of 132 adolescents enrolled in junior high school completed a biographical data sheet, short forms of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a Sensation- Seeking Scale (SSS), the Family Environment Scale (FES), a social support index (SSI), and a life stress inventory (LSI). The nondepressed group differed from the depressed group on a variety of variables, and stepwise multiple regression suggested a significant relationship between depression and life stress and an inverse relationship between depression and family cohesion.