Etiological heterogeneity of symptom dimensions of adolescent depression

Abstract

The aim was to investigate the underlying factor structure of adolescent depression and etiological heterogeneity in the symptom dimensions of adolescent depression. The sample included 842 pairs of same-sex adolescent twins, among which 613 pairs were monozygotic twins and 229 pairs were dizygotic twins. The ages of the participants ranged from 11 to 17 years (M = 13.64, SD = 1.80). Adolescents' depressive symptoms were assessed using the self-reported Children's Depression Inventory. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to explore the factor structure of youth depression and twin genetic analyses were employed to estimate genetic and environmental influences on the derived dimensions. Results showed that adolescent depression encompassed five correlated dimensions: dysphoria mood, somatic symptoms, study and externalizing problems, anhedonia symptoms, and cognitive symptoms. These five symptom dimensions had heterogeneous etiologies: Dysphoria mood, somatic symptoms, and cognitive symptoms were moderately heritable (heritability ranged from 33 to 40%), whereas study and externalizing problems, and anhedonia symptoms were mainly environmentally influenced with minimal genetic basis. Our findings supported the multidimensionality of adolescent depression and the etiological heterogeneity of these symptom dimensions.

The Beijing Twin Study (BeTwiSt): An Update

“…Regarding internalizing problems, ACE models were established for depression and anxiety symptoms (Table 3). Moderate heritability was found for both depression and anxiety in Chinese adolescents, and non-shared environmental factors played an important role (Chen, Li, Natsuaki et al, 2014;Chen, Yu, Zhang et al, 2014). These results were generally consistent with previous findings observed in Western adolescents, supporting the crosscultural generalizability of the etiological models of adolescent depression and anxiety.…”

Time-varying associations of parent–adolescent cultural conflict and youth adjustment among Chinese American families.

“…Depressed affect and somatic symptoms were both stably associated with conflict across all ages. Because these two aspects of depression are tightly linked for Chinese American adults (Ying, 1988), and share a similar etiological base (Chen et al, 2014), showing similar patterns in relation to conflict during adolescence makes sense.…”

“…Therefore, in our study we focus on two aspects of adjustment: depressive symptoms and grade point average (GPA). Because depressive symptoms includes multiple dimensions (i.e., depressed affect, somatic symptoms, positive affect, and interpersonal difficulties) that are distinct from one another and have different etiological bases (Chen, Yu, Zhang, Li, & Zhang, 2014; Moskowitz, 2003), we examine each separately.…”

Research Review: Brain network connectivity and the heterogeneity of depression in adolescence – a precision mental health perspective

“…A major factor that has hindered progress in identifying and treating adolescent depression is the considerable heterogeneity of this disorder. Depressed adolescents vary in the age at which they experience the onset of the disorder (Breslau et al, 2017), the types of symptoms with which they present (Chen et al, 2014), the course of their symptoms (Yaroslavsky, Pettit, Lewinsohn, Seeley, & Roberts, 2013), and their response to treatment (Mojtabai, Olfson, & Han, 2016). Adolescent females are at greater risk for the onset of depression than are their male counterparts and also tend to show more severe symptoms that are stable and unremitting (Breslau et al, 2017).…”