Margaret N. Lumley

Specificity in the Relations among Childhood Adversity, Early Maladaptive Schemas, and Symptom Profiles in Adolescent Depression

The present cross-sectional study examined the relations of particular forms of childhood adversity (e.g., emotional maltreatment vs. physical abuse vs. sexual abuse) to specific early maladaptive schema themes (e.g., worthlessness/loss vs. danger) and symptom profiles (i.e., anhedonic vs. anxious). Seventy-six depressed adolescents retrospectively reported on their childhood experiences of emotional maltreatment, physical abuse, and sexual abuse in a contextual semi-structured interview. They were also administered the Young Schema Questionnaire to measure early maladaptive schemas, and the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire to measure anhedonic and anxious symptomatology. Consistent with specificity hypotheses, schemas with themes of loss/worthlessness preferentially mediated the relation between childhood adversity and anhedonic symptoms, while schemas with themes of danger preferentially mediated the relation between childhood adversity and anxious symptoms. Sexual abuse was not significantly associated with either depression or anxiety symptoms and, thus, mediation models involving sexual abuse were not tested. Implications for fine-grained models of etiology in depression are discussed.

Sources of Emotional Maltreatment and the Differential Development of Unconditional and Conditional Schemas

Schema theory posits that experiences of maltreatment result in the early development of maladaptive schemas (EMS; Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003, Schema therapy: A practitioners guide, The Guilford Press: New York, NY). EMS are organized by conditionality; unconditional schemas are theorized to develop early in childhood predominantly in response to experiences of parenting and conditional schemas are theorized to develop later in life in response to other relationships. Despite this distinction, minimal previous research has investigated their differential development. The current study examined the relative contributions of parental and other (peer and intimate partner) emotional maltreatment (EMT) in the differential development of unconditional and conditional schemas. Ninety-seven undergraduate students retrospectively reported their maltreatment experiences using the Lifetime Experiences Questionnaire and completed the Young Schema Questionnaire to measure EMS. Consistent with hypotheses, parental EMT was the strongest predictor of unconditional schemas. Unexpectedly, parental EMT also emerged as the strongest predictor of conditional schemas. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Parent Prediction of Child Mood and Emotional Resilience: The Role of Parental Responsiveness and Psychological Control

Research consistently shows low to moderate agreement between parent and child reports of child mood, suggesting that parents are not always the best predictors of child emotional functioning. This study examines parental responsiveness and psychological control for improving prediction of early adolescent mood and emotional resilience beyond parent report of child emotional functioning. Participants were 268 early adolescents administered measures of depression symptoms, emotional resilience, and perceptions of parenting. Parents of participating youth completed measures of youth emotional functioning. Parental responsiveness and psychological control each emerged as family variables that may be of value for predicting child emotional functioning beyond parent reports. Specifically, responsiveness explained significant variance in child depression and resilience after accounting for parent reports, while parental psychological control increased prediction of child mood alone. Results generally suggest that parenting behaviours may be an important consideration when children and parents provide discrepant reports of child emotional well-being. Conceptual and clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Cognitive schemas as longitudinal predictors of self-reported adolescent depressive symptoms and resilience.

Abstract Given that depression risk intensifies in adolescence, examining associates of depressive symptoms during the shift from childhood to adolescence is important for expanding knowledge about the etiology of depression symptoms and disorder. A longitudinal youth report was employed to examine the trajectory of both the content and structure of positive and negative schemas in adolescence and also whether these schemas could prospectively predict depressive symptoms and youth-reported resilience. One hundred and ninety-eight participants (aged 9 to 14) were recruited from four schools to complete measures of youth depressive symptoms, resilience, and schema content and structure. Those who consented to a follow-up study completed the same measures online (50 participants completed). Negative and positive schema content and structure were related over time. After controlling depressive symptoms/resilience at Time 1, negative schema content was the only significant predictor (trend level) of depressive symptoms and resilience at Time 2. Implications for cognitive theories and clinical practice are discussed.

Early maladaptive schemas and non-suicidal self-injury among young adults: A preliminary investigation

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) represents a critical mental health issue among young adults. Accordingly, it is important to understand potentially modifiable processes involved in its enactment. The current investigation built on previous work to better understand the nature of early maladaptive schemas (EMS) in the context of NSSI. One hundred and thirty young adults completed questionnaires assessing NSSI history, EMS and depressive symptoms. Results indicate that EMS may play a role in NSSI engagement after controlling for depressive symptoms. Specifically, higher scores on social isolation and emotional inhibition and possibly lower scores on entitlement/grandiosity schemas may differentiate those who self-injure from those who do not. Furthermore, higher levels of dependence/incompetence schema may differentiate those who report a higher NSSI frequency and those who report a less frequent NSSI history. Although a nascent area of study, our findings suggest that it may be fruitful to consider conceptualizing NSSI within a schema therapy framework.

Teen Depression Groups on Facebook A Content Analysis

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most frequently diagnosed disorders in early adolescence and can lead to a multitude of negative life outcomes, highlighting the need for early and effective intervention to mitigate depressive symptoms. Recognizing the preference of youth to seek informal sources of help for mental health issues, which may include the Internet, the social networking site Facebook was investigated as a potential source of support and help for youth suffering depressive symptoms or disorder. This study examined the content of online Facebook support groups targeting adolescents with depression. A total of 508 posts from six Facebook groups were analyzed. The majority of post content on these Facebook groups consisted of self-disclosure (32.48%), feedback between posters (24.80%), and offers and recommendations of help (24.61%). Posters seem to utilize adolescent Facebook depression groups mainly to connect with those who might share a similar experience and to share information about mental health resources. Future studies should investigate the potential to use the information exchange that occurs in these groups to promote traffic to online and offline evidence-based mental health resources.

Incorporating Balance: Challenges and Opportunities for Positive Psychology.

Positive psychology (PP), the empirical study of optimal human functioning (Linley, Joseph, Harrington, & Wood, 2006), has grown considerably and made important contributions to science and practice since its introduction at the end of the last century. It has also been the subject of a number of persistent criticisms. Addressing these criticisms to move the area forward represents a major challenge and opportunity for PP. However, doing so is hampered by the lack of a framework to guide this effort. The present paper presents a strategic guiding framework explicitly based on balance that allows PP to effectively address the criticisms leveled against it and advance the study of optimal human functioning. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed. La psychologie positive (PP), étude empirique du fonctionnement humain optimal (Linley, Joseph, Harrington, & Wood, 2006), a connu un essor considérable et fait d’importantes contributions à la science et à la pratique depuis son arrivée à la fin du dernier siècle. Elle a également fait l’objet de nombreuses critiques. Le fait de répondre à ces critiques dans le but de faire avancer cette discipline constitue un défi majeur mais aussi une occasion importante pour la PP. Ces efforts sont toutefois entravés par le manque de cadre pour guider ces derniers. Cet article présente un cadre d’orientation stratégique explicitement basé sur l’équilibre qui permet à la PP de répondre aux critiques lui étant destinées et de faire avancer l’étude du fonctionnement humain optimal. Les implications pour la théorie, la recherche et la pratique y sont discutées.