This research examined three possible models to explain how childhood social adversity and recent stress interact to predict depression in youth: stress-sensitization, stress-amplification, and stress-inoculation. Drawing from a stress-sensitization theory of depression, we hypothesized that exposure to childhood adversity, in the form of disruptions in critical interpersonal relationships, would lower youths' threshold for depressive reactions to recent interpersonal stress. We expected that this pattern of stress sensitization would be most salient for girls negotiating the pubertal transition. These hypotheses were examined in two studies: a longitudinal, questionnaire-based investigation of 399 youth (M age = 11.66 years) and a concurrent, interview-based investigation of 147 youth (M age = 12.39 years). Findings supported the role of stress-sensitization processes in pubertal girls and prepubertal boys, and stress-amplification processes in prepubertal girls. Childhood social adversity specifically predicted sensitization to recent interpersonal, but not noninterpersonal, stress. These findings build on prior theory and research by suggesting that early adversity exerts context-specific effects that vary across gender and development. Future research will need to identify the specific mechanisms underlying this stress-sensitization process.Keywords childhood adversity; depression; gender; puberty Childhood Adversity and Youth Depression: Influence of Gender and Pubertal StatusIn light of abundant research attesting to the pivotal role of stress in the development of psychopathology (for a review, see Grant et al., 2003), developmental scientists have focused growing attention on the psychological and biological consequences of stress (Boyce et al., 1998;Cicchetti & Walker, 2001;Curtis & Cicchetti, 2003). Of particular concern is the potential long-term impact of stress experienced early in life on subsequent vulnerability to psychopathology O'Connor, 2003). Notably, theory and research consistently implicate early adversity, particularly in the form of family disruption and parental loss, as a significant risk factor for depression (e.g., Brown & Harris, 1978;Daley, Hammen, & Rao, 2000;Goodyer & Altham, 1991;Kessler & Magee, 1993;Lizardi & Klein, 2000; for a review, see Goodman, 2002). However, minimal research explores how early adversity and recent stress jointly contribute to the onset and course of depression. Consistent with emerging models of early experience O'Connor, 2003), the present research examined the hypothesis that exposure to childhood social adversity heightens youths' reactivity to subsequent stress, resulting in depression.Correspondence regarding this manuscript can be addressed to Karen D. Rudolph, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, 603 E. Daniel St., Champaign, IL 61820, phone: (217) 333-8624, fax: (217) Theoretical Models of the Consequences of Childhood AdversityThree theoretical models might explain how childhood social adversity influences subsequent stres...

Little is known about individual differences in how children respond to peer aggression. This research explored the contribution of social goal orientation, specifically development goals (improving social skills and relationships), demonstration-approach goals (gaining positive judgments), and demonstration-avoidance goals (minimizing negative judgments). Children (M age = 7.97, SD = .34) were followed from 2nd to 3rd grade. Validity of the social goal orientation construct was established through correlations with situation-specific goals and social adjustment. Development goals predicted adaptive responses (more effortful engagement, problem solving, advice seeking; fewer involuntary responses); demonstration goals predicted maladaptive responses (less effortful engagement, problem solving; more disengagement, retaliation). This study contributes to theoretical understanding of the process of peer aggression and interventions to promote optimal social health.

This research investigated the contribution of deficits in emotional clarity to children’s socioemotional adjustment. Specifically, this study examined the proposal that deficits in emotional clarity are associated with maladaptive interpersonal stress responses, and that maladaptive interpersonal stress responses act as a mechanism linking deficits in emotional clarity to childhood depressive symptoms. Participants included 345 3rd graders (M age = 8.89, SD = .34) assessed at two waves, approximately one year apart; youth completed self-report measures of emotional clarity, responses to interpersonal stress, and depressive symptoms. Results supported the hypothesized process model linking deficits in emotional clarity, maladaptive interpersonal stress responses, and depressive symptoms, adjusting for prior depressive symptoms. Findings have implications for theories of emotional competence and for depression-intervention efforts aimed at fostering emotional understanding and adaptive interpersonal stress responses.

This study examined whether a transactional interpersonal life stress model helps to explain the continuity in depression over time in girls. Youth (86 girls, 81 boys; M age = 12.41, SD = 1.19) and their caregivers participated in a three-wave longitudinal study. Depression and episodic life stress were assessed with semi-structured interviews. Path analysis provided support for a transactional interpersonal life stress model in girls but not in boys, wherein depression predicted the generation of interpersonal stress, which predicted subsequent depression. Moreover, self-generated interpersonal stress partially accounted for the continuity of depression over time. Although depression predicted noninterpersonal stress generation in girls (but not in boys), noninterpersonal stress did not predict subsequent depression.Youth depression is a recurrent and chronic disorder that often portends ongoing distress and impairment (for a review, see Rudolph, Hammen, & Daley, 2006). Despite the well-known fact that past depression is the best predictor of future depression (e.g., Lewinsohn, Zeiss, & Duncan, 1989;Tram & Cole, 2006), little research directly investigates the mechanisms that underlie the continuity of depression. The goal of the present research was to investigate one possible mechanism. Drawing from transactional perspectives of psychopathology (Cicchetti, Rogosch, & Toth, 1994;Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003) and interpersonal theories of depression (Coyne, 1976;Hammen, 1992Hammen, , 2006Joiner, Coyne, & Blalock, 1999), this research examined the hypothesis that depressed youth generate stress in their relationships that contributes to the continuity of depression over time (see Figure 1). More specifically, based on theory and research indicating that girls show particular vulnerabilities within their relationships (for a review, see Rudolph, in press), it was expected that interpersonal stress generation would more likely serve as a mechanism underlying depression continuity in girls than in boys. Transactional Interpersonal Theories of DepressionTransactional perspectives of psychopathology posit that youth and their social contexts participate in dynamic interchanges over time, creating feedback loops that stimulate reorganization at both the individual and environmental levels (Cicchetti et al., 1994;Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003). Consistent with these perspectives, interpersonal theories of depression suggest that depressed individuals act in ways that elicit rejection and stress in their relationships; these disturbances then perpetuate depression. For example, Coyne's (1976) pioneering theory articulates an escalating cycle of interpersonal disturbances and depressive symptoms. Depressed individuals are thought to engage in excessive efforts to seek reassurance from their relationship partners. These efforts provoke avoidance or rejection, which then NIH Public Access

This research examined the proposal that ineffective responses to common interpersonal problems disrupt youths’ relationships, which, in turn, contributes to depression during adolescence. Youth (86 girls, 81 boys; M age = 12.41, SD = 1.19) and their primary female caregivers participated in a three-wave longitudinal study. Youth completed a measure assessing interpersonal stress responses; youth and caregivers completed semi-structured interviews assessing youths’ life stress and psychopathology. Consistent with the hypothesized model, ineffective stress responses (low levels of effortful engagement, high levels of involuntary engagement and disengagement) predicted the generation of subsequent interpersonal stress, which partially accounted for the association between stress responses and depression over time. Moreover, results revealed that self-generated interpersonal, but not noninterpersonal stress, predicted depression, and that this explanatory model was specific to the prediction of depression but not anxiety. This research builds on interpersonal stress generation models of depression, and highlights the importance of implementing depression-focused intervention programs that promote effective stress responses and adaptive interpersonal relationships during adolescence.