Adolescents’ and Best Friend’s Depressive Symptoms and Conflict Management: Intraindividual and Interpersonal Processes Over Time

Abstract

This 6-year longitudinal study examined the relation between 3 conflict management styles (i.e., problem solving, conflict engagement, and compliance) and depressive symptoms in adolescent-best friend relationships. Participants were 479 Dutch adolescents and their best friend who reported annually on depressive symptoms and conflict management styles toward each other. Bidirectional effects between conflict management styles and depressive symptoms were studied both within adolescents (intraindividual) and between adolescent best friends (interpersonal). A positive interpersonal effect of depressive symptoms of one dyad member on depressive symptoms of the other member was found. Similarly, higher positive problem solving and conflict engagement of one dyad member predicted respectively higher problem solving and conflict engagement of the other dyad member. Adolescents who reported more depressive symptoms reported more conflict engagement and compliance over time. In addition, for boys, higher levels of depressive symptoms of one dyad member were related to more problem solving by the other member over time. The current study contributed to the literature by showing that depressive symptoms and conflict management are related constructs in adolescents and that both intrapersonal and interpersonal processes contribute to this relation.

Perceived Support from Best Friends and Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence: Disentangling Personal from Dyadic Level Effects

“…Although not of main interest to our study and not officially tested, we also found that friends seem to become more alike in their level of depressive symptoms over time (as indicated by increasing ICCs). This finding is in concurrence with other studies (Boersma-van Dam et al, 2019;Schwartz-Mette & Smith, 2018;Van Zalk et al, 2010) and emphasizes that early monitoring of friends with elevated depression symptoms is warranted.…”

“…In fact, in our study, no associations of support and subsequent depressive symptoms were found at the individual level. Although previous studies did not differentiate between dyadic and individual effects, some studies have suggested that dyadic processes such as depression contagion via peer influence or selection effects might play a role in the development of depressive symptoms within adolescent friendships (Boersma-van Dam et al, 2019;Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011;Giletta et al, 2011;Van Zalk et al, 2010). The present study confirmed this suggestion and emphasizes that part of the supportdepression association may be due to either selection or within dyad processes, or both, that may make friendship dyads similar in the appreciation of support in their experienced mental state (Mankowski & Wyer, 1996;Van Zalk et al, 2010).…”

“…Indeed, a previous study found support for this type of selection effects (Van Zalk et al, 2010). In addition, and not necessarily mutually exclusive from the processes of selection, it has been found that friends with depressive symptoms become more alike over time in their depression levels (Boersma-van Dam et al, 2019;Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011;Brown & Larson, 2009;Giletta et al, 2011); a process known as peer evocation or 'spill over' effects. Thus, within best friend dyads, the shared experience of friend support may affect the course of their depressive symptom development for both friends together.…”

“…However, as support within friendships by nature is an interpersonal quality that is the result of reciprocal social behavior and dyadic interactions between two adolescents, friend support may be (at least in part) a dyadic process experienced by the dyad (Turner & Brown, 2010). The same holds true for depressive symptoms within dyadic friendships (Boersma-van Dam et al, 2019;Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011;Giletta et al, 2011), where dyad-members as a pair might differ in their development of depressive symptoms from other dyads. Nonetheless, disentangling individual from dyadic effects is often overlooked in previous studies focusing on the association between friend support and depressive symptoms.…”

“…Based on previous empirical work, we expected that higher levels of perceived support would be associated with fewer depressive symptoms over time for individual adolescents (i.e., a within-level effect; Rueger et al, 2016). Furthermore, based on the emerging evidence that both friendship support and subsequent depressive symptoms may yield -to some degree -dyadic effects, we also expected to find associations at the dyadic level (Boersma-van Dam et al, 2019;Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011;Brown & Larson, 2009;Giletta et al, 2011). Lastly, given the -to our knowledge -lack of previous empirical work on initial depression levels as a potential moderator in the association between support and subsequent depressive symptoms, we could not formulate an a-priori hypothesis regarding a potential moderation effect and the direction of such an effect.…”