Joanna Chango

Relational Stressors and Depressive Symptoms in Late Adolescence: Rejection Sensitivity as a Vulnerability.

The role of rejection sensitivity as a critical diathesis moderating the link between adolescent relational stressors and depressive symptoms was examined using multi-method, multi-reporter data from a diverse community sample of 173 adolescents, followed from age 16 to 18. Relational stressors examined included emotional abuse, maternal behavior undermining adolescents’ autonomy and relatedness, and lack of support from close peers. As hypothesized, multiple relational stressors were found to predict the future development of depressive symptoms, but as hypothesized predictions existed primarily for adolescents who were highly rejection sensitive. Results are discussed in terms of a diathesis-stress model of depression and suggest that though relational stressors have previously shown consistent modest links to depressive symptoms, understanding pre-existing intrapsychic vulnerabilities of the adolescent may be critical to identifying the processes by which such stressors lead to depressive symptoms.

Adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury: Examining the role of child abuse, comorbidity, and disinhibition

The purpose of the study is to examine how several well-known correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) might work together to contribute to the occurrence of this behavior. Specifically, we examined models including child abuse, psychiatric comorbidity, and disinhibition, testing how these factors may work together to lead to NSSI in the past month. Participants (n=194; 144 female; age 13-18 years) were recruited from a short-term, acute adolescent residential unit. Within 48 hours of admission to the hospital participants completed structured clinical interviews assessing mental disorders and patterns of NSSI. Following the interviews, participants completed a self-report questionnaire assessing childhood abuse and a computerized continuous performance task. Consistent with study hypotheses, results revealed that the association between child abuse and NSSI is partially mediated by comorbidity. Although disinhibition is associated with comorbidity, contrary to our hypothesis, disinhibition does not mediate the relation between child abuse and NSSI. Collectively, these findings provide new information about how comorbidity may increase risk for NSSI, and critically, discuss the potential importance of creating targeted programs to reduce the prevalence of child abuse.

What ever happened to the "cool" kids? Long-term sequelae of early adolescent pseudomature behavior

Pseudomature behavior-ranging from minor delinquency to precocious romantic involvement-is widely viewed as a nearly normative feature of adolescence. When such behavior occurs early in adolescence, however, it was hypothesized to reflect a misguided overemphasis upon impressing peers and was considered likely to predict long-term adjustment problems. In a multimethod, multireporter study following a community sample of 184 adolescents from ages 13 to 23, early adolescent pseudomature behavior was linked cross-sectionally to a heightened desire for peer popularity and to short-term success with peers. Longitudinal results, however, supported the studys central hypothesis: Early adolescent pseudomature behavior predicted long-term difficulties in close relationships, as well as significant problems with alcohol and substance use, and elevated levels of criminal behavior.

Conflict and love: predicting newlywed marital outcomes from two interaction contexts.

Research on marital interaction has focused primarily on couples in conflict contexts to understand better processes associated with concurrent and longitudinal outcomes such as marital stability and quality. Although this work has consistently revealed particular emotions (e.g., contempt) or behavioral sequences (e.g., demand/withdraw) predictive of later marital distress, it largely has neglected to take positive contexts into consideration. The present longitudinal study begins to address this gap in the literature by directly comparing newlywed behaviors from a conflict-resolution interaction with those from a love-paradigm interaction to predict relationship satisfaction and divorce proneness approximately 15 months later. Results showed that actor and partner negative (contempt) and positive (affection) emotions elicited in both positive (i.e., love) and negative (i.e., conflict) interaction contexts emerged as unique predictors of relationship quality and stability for both husbands and wives. Moreover, using a linear growth model, the temporal course of positive emotion during the love context, but not the conflict context, was predictive of later relationship satisfaction. Implications for future marital research and intervention are discussed.

Long-term sequelae of subclinical depressive symptoms in early adolescence

The long-term sequelae of adolescent depressive symptoms were examined in a multimethod, multireporter study of a diverse community sample of 179 adolescents followed from age 14 to 24. Mild to moderate levels of early adolescent depressive symptoms were found to predict lower maternal relationship quality, less positive interactions with romantic partners, and greater loneliness in adulthood even after accounting for prior levels of social functioning and for concurrent levels of adult depressive symptoms. Predictions were partially mediated via late adolescent avoidance of social interactions and poor maternal relationship quality. Results are interpreted as suggesting the potential impact of depressive symptoms on adolescent social development and the need to consider treatment for even mild symptoms and their social concomitants.

The Adolescent Relational Dialectic and the Peer Roots of Adult Social Functioning

The long-term import of a fundamental challenge of adolescent social development-establishing oneself as a desirable peer companion while avoiding problematic behaviors often supported within peer groups-was examined in a community sample of 184 adolescents, followed from ages 13 to 23, along with parents, peers, and romantic partners. The dialectical nature of this challenge appeared in findings that autonomy vis-à-vis peer influences predicted both long-term success avoiding problematic behavior but also more difficulty establishing strong adult friendships. Conversely, being a desirable peer companion in adolescence predicted more positive adult relationships but also greater alcohol use. Adolescents who established themselves as both desirable companions and as autonomous vis-à-vis peers were rated as most successful by their parents at age 23.

Adolescent Neighborhood Quality Predicts Adult dACC Response to Social Exclusion

Neuroimaging studies using the social-exclusion paradigm Cyberball indicate increased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and right insula activity as a function of exclusion. However, comparatively less work has been done on how social status factors may moderate this finding. This study used the Cyberball paradigm with 85 (45 females) socio-economically diverse participants from a larger longitudinal sample. We tested whether neighborhood quality during adolescence would predict subsequent neural responding to social exclusion in young adulthood. Given previous behavioral studies indicating greater social vigilance and negative evaluation as a function of lower status, we expected that lower adolescent neighborhood quality would predict greater dACC activity during exclusion at young adulthood. Our findings indicate that young adults who lived in low-quality neighborhoods in adolescence showed greater dACC activity to social exclusion than those who lived in higher quality neighborhoods. Lower neighborhood quality also predicted greater prefrontal activation in the superior frontal gyrus, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and the middle frontal gyrus, possibly indicating greater regulatory effort. Finally, this effect was not driven by subsequent ratings of distress during exclusion. In sum, adolescent neighborhood quality appears to potentiate neural responses to social exclusion in young adulthood, effects that are independent of felt distress.

Adolescent Romance and Depressive Symptoms: The Moderating Effects of Positive Coping and Perceived Friendship Competence

Youths’ ability to positively cope with negative emotions and their self-perceived friendship competence were examined as potential moderators of links between multiple aspects of romantic relationships and residualized increases in depressive symptoms from late adolescence into early adulthood. Participants included 184 teens (46% male; 42% non-White) assessed at ages 15 to 19 and 21, as well as a subsample of 62 romantic partners of participants assessed when teens were 18. Results of hierarchical linear regressions showed that positive coping served as a buffer against depressive symptoms for romantically involved adolescents and also for teens receiving more intense emotional support from their romantic partners, but not for youth whose relationship had ended and had not been replaced by a new relationship. Higher perceived friendship competence served as a buffer against depressive symptoms for youth enduring the dissolution and nonreplacement of their romantic relationship. Greater use of positive coping skills and higher perceived friendship competence may help protect adolescents from depressive symptoms in different types of romantic experiences.

Long‐Term Predictions From Early Adolescent Attachment State of Mind to Romantic Relationship Behaviors

Attachment state of mind was investigated as a long-term predictor of romantic relationship competence. A secure early adolescent attachment state of mind was hypothesized to predict more constructive dyadic behaviors during conflict discussions and support seeking interactions in late adolescence and early adulthood. Utilizing multi-method data from a community sample of 184 individuals, followed from ages 14 to 21, adolescents with a secure attachment state of mind at age 14 were found to be in relationships that displayed more constructive dyadic conflict discussion behaviors and dyadic supportive behaviors at both ages 18 and 21. Results suggest substantial links between early adolescent attachment state of mind and the adult romantic relationship atmosphere an individual creates and experiences.