Temperament and Risk for Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Mediation by Rumination and Moderation by Effortful Control

Abstract

The present study examined the relations between temperament, ruminative response style and depressive symptoms both cross-sectionally and prospectively (1 year follow-up) in a community sample of 304 seventh- through tenth-graders. First, higher levels of negative affectivity (NA), lower levels of positive affectivity (PA) and lower levels of effortful control (EC) were found to be associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Second, the association between NA and PA on the one hand and depressive symptoms on the other was significantly moderated by level of EC (low PA and high NA are associated with depressive symptoms only if EC is low) and these relations were moderated by sex in the cross-sectional data. In the prospective data, T1 depressive symptoms and PA predicted T2 depressive symptoms; with EC approaching significance. Third, rumination also predicted T1 as well as T2 depressive symptoms. Finally, support was found for a model of moderated mediation: higher levels of NA were associated with higher levels of ruminative response style, which was in turn related to more depressive symptoms but only in individuals with low EC and this was true for the cross-sectional as well as the prospective data albeit with noteworthy differences in pattern. These findings confirm and extend previous findings on the associations between temperament, response styles and depression in adolescence and, as such, add to the growing body of research providing support for the applicability of cognitive vulnerability theories to depression in younger populations.

La Escala de Control Intencional para adultos: propiedades psicométricas de la versión catalana y sus relaciones con la regulación emocional cognitiva.

“…Regarding the interplay between NA and EC in determining anxiety and cognitive ER, subjects high in BIS reactivity/negative affect and low in EC exhibited higher scores both on anxiety and rumination and suppression and those who were low in BIS reactivity/negative affect and high in EC exhibiting lower ones. These results are consistent with data reported in previous research supporting the idea that both emotional reactivity and EC determine anxiety and other general distress manifestations (e.g., Buffington, 2009;Verstraeten et al, 2009;Wiltink et al, 2006), with the relative novelty that the same is true for negative ER strategies, an observation that has not yet been broadly stated. But contrary to previous results for depression in adolescents (Verstraeten et al, 2009), we have not found EC to moderate the relationship between NA and anxiety manifestations and/or negative cognitive ER strategies.…”

“…acceptance, reappraisal), are not as clearly linked to psychopathology. Surprisingly, EC and cognitive ER research has evolved independently, without specific studies devoted to directly exploring the potential links between both constructs, with the exception of the study by Verstraeten, Vasey, Raes, and Bijttebier (2009). They found that EC moderated the association between NA and rumination, and, prospectively, the association between rumination and depressive symptoms.…”

Teacher support mediates concurrent and longitudinal associations between temperament and mild depressive symptoms in sixth grade

“…negative emotionality) and regulatory (e.g. effortful control) aspects of temperament have been linked to depression (Compas et al, 2004;Verstraeten, Vasey, Raes, & Bijttebier, 2009), but evidence is particularly strong for the positive association between negative emotionality and depression (Compas et al, 2004;Loukas & Robinson, 2004;Verstraeten et al, 2009). Emotionality, both positive and negative, refers to the intensity of emotional response to environmental stimuli.…”

Emotion Regulation Mediates the Relationship between ADHD and Depressive Symptoms in Youth

“…Additionally, a growing literature has examined the relationship between effortful control and symptoms of depression (Eisenberg, et al, 2001(Eisenberg, et al, , 2005Muris, 2006Muris, , 2007aMuris, , 2007bOldehinkel et al, 2007, Verstraeten, Vasey, Raes, Bijttebier, 2009 When considering a theoretical model for the relationship between ER and depression, effortful control appears paramount. Specifically, vulnerability models of psychopathology suggest that certain traits predispose individuals to or protect them from certain kinds of psychopathology in some contexts, but that these traits are inconsequential in other contexts (Shiner & Caspi, 2003;Tackett & Krueger, 2005;Watson et al, in press).…”