Randy P. Auerbach

Conceptualizing the Prospective Relationship Between Social Support, Stress, and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents

The goal of the current study is to examine the relationship amongst social support, stress, and depressive symptoms within a transactional and diathesis-stress framework using a multi-wave, longitudinal design. At the initial assessment, adolescents (n = 258) completed self-report measures assessing social support (peer, classmate, parent, and total), dependent interpersonal stress, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Additionally, participants reported stress and symptomology in each of the four waves spanning six months. Results of time-lagged, idiographic, multilevel modeling indicated that stress mediated the relationship between lower parental, classmate, and total social support and subsequent depressive, but not anxious, symptoms. In contrast, lower levels of peer support were not associated with higher levels of stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. Additionally, only classmate support deficits significantly moderated the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms. Overall, the results suggest that deficits in parental and classmate support may play a greater role in contributing to adolescent depression as compared to deficits in peer support.

An examination of the psychometric properties of the chinese version of the barratt impulsiveness scale, 11th version in a sample of chinese adolescents

The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese translation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11th version in a sample of adolescents from Hunan province, mainland China. During an initial assessment, 396 secondary school students (Grades 10–12) completed the scale and self-report measures assessing problem behaviors and alcohol use. The scale was re-administered 1 mo. later. Analysis gave Cronbach alpha of .80 and test-retest reliability of .70. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a model containing six first-order factors and two second-order factors best fit the data. Girls reported higher Total scores than boys as well as higher scores on the motor impulsiveness, self-control, and cognitive instability sub-scales. Scores were associated in the predicted direction with a wide variety of self-reported problem behaviors including alcohol use, gambling, and academic misconduct. Current findings indicate that the translated scale is a promising tool with some further development for assessing impulsiveness with Chinese adolescents.

The response styles theory of depression: A test of specificity and causal mediation

This prospective study tested the diathesis-stress and causal mediation components of the response styles theory of depression. In addition, it examined whether rumination predicts increases in anxious as well as depressive symptoms. At Time 1, 87 college students completed measures of rumination, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. Participants also completed measures of hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms at three time points later in the semester: immediately after receiving their most difficult midterm exam grade (Time 2), 4–8 hours later (Time 3), and 4 days later (Time 4). Regardless of exam outcome, the tendency to ruminate in response to depressed mood was associated with: (1) increases in anxious symptoms between Time 1 and Time 3; and (2) increases in both anxious and depressive symptoms between Time 1 and Time 4. In addition, the relationship between rumination and increases in both depressive and anxious symptoms was mediated by hopelessness. In other words, individuals with a ruminative response style exhibited increases in both depressive and anxious symptoms because they exhibited increases in hopelessness.

Psychometric properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire : Chinese version

The aim of the present study was to develop a Chinese version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-C) and to examine its psychometric properties in a sample of Chinese university students. The English version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire was translated and back-translated prior to its administration to 791 participants recruited from two universities in Changsha, Hunan (China). Internal consistency, test–retest reliability, inter-scale reliability, and factorial validity were analysed. The CERQ-C exhibited: (1) moderate internal consistency (Cronbachs α=.83); (2) a mean inter-class correlation coefficient of .79; (3) a mean inter-item correlation coefficient of .09; and (4) moderate test–retest reliability (.64). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original CERQ nine-factor model. Finally, with respect to criterion validity, several CERQ-C subscales were uniquely associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression in Canadian and Chinese Adolescents

The goal of the current study was to compare diathesis-stress and transactional models of cognitive vulnerability to depression in samples of Canadian (n = 118) and Chinese (n = 405) adolescents. We utilized a six-month multi-wave, longitudinal design in order to examine whether (a) perceived control moderated the association between the occurrence of dependent interpersonal stressors and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., a diathesis-stress perspective) and (b) dependent interpersonal stressors mediated the association between perceived control and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., a transactional perspective). Results from idiographic, time-lagged, hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that for Canadian adolescents both diathesis-stress and transactional models were significant predictors of depressive symptomology. When examining the diathesis-stress model, boys, but not girls, who reported lower perceived control, reported higher levels of depressive symptoms following the occurrence of dependent interpersonal stress. Gender differences, however, were not present in the transactional model. In contrast, transactional, but not diathesis-stress, models were significant in Chinese adolescents, and gender differences did not emerge. Overall, these results may reflect culturally-relevant differences in the etiology of depression in Canadian and Chinese adolescents.

Mental disorders among college students in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys

BACKGROUND Although mental disorders are significant predictors of educational attainment throughout the entire educational career, most research on mental disorders among students has focused on the primary and secondary school years. METHOD The World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys were used to examine the associations of mental disorders with college entry and attrition by comparing college students (n = 1572) and non-students in the same age range (18-22 years; n = 4178), including non-students who recently left college without graduating (n = 702) based on surveys in 21 countries (four low/lower-middle income, five upper-middle-income, one lower-middle or upper-middle at the times of two different surveys, and 11 high income). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence and age-of-onset of DSM-IV anxiety, mood, behavioral and substance disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). RESULTS One-fifth (20.3%) of college students had 12-month DSM-IV/CIDI disorders; 83.1% of these cases had pre-matriculation onsets. Disorders with pre-matriculation onsets were more important than those with post-matriculation onsets in predicting subsequent college attrition, with substance disorders and, among women, major depression the most important such disorders. Only 16.4% of students with 12-month disorders received any 12-month healthcare treatment for their mental disorders. CONCLUSIONS Mental disorders are common among college students, have onsets that mostly occur prior to college entry, in the case of pre-matriculation disorders are associated with college attrition, and are typically untreated. Detection and effective treatment of these disorders early in the college career might reduce attrition and improve educational and psychosocial functioning.

Understanding the role of coping in the development of depressive symptoms: symptom specificity, gender differences, and cross-cultural applicability.

OBJECTIVES The primary aim examined whether coping deficits, a greater tendency to utilize maladaptive as opposed to adaptive coping strategies, was associated with increases in depressive symptoms following negative events. The secondary goals examined: the common vulnerability hypothesis, sex differences, and the cross-cultural generalizability. DESIGN Following the initial assessment, Canadian adolescents completed three follow-up assessments every 6 weeks. The Chinese adolescents completed an initial assessment and six follow-up assessments occurring monthly. METHODS At Time 1, 150 Canadian and 397 Chinese adolescents completed self-report measures assessing depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, negative events, and coping. During each of the follow-up assessments, participants completed self-report measures assessing depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, and negative events. RESULTS In both samples, higher levels of coping deficits were associated with increases in depressive, but not anxious, symptoms following negative events. Gender differences did not emerge. CONCLUSIONS The present study provides a theoretically driven model to examine the impact of broad-based coping on the development of depressive symptoms.

Processes of Change in CBT of Adolescent Depression: Review and Recommendations

A growing body of research supports the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescent depression. The mechanisms through which CBT exerts its beneficial effects on adolescent patients suffering from depression, however, remain unclear. The current article reviews the CBT for adolescent depression process literature. Our review focuses on several process variables: the therapeutic alliance, patient cognitive change, and therapist adherence to, and competence in, the theory-specified techniques of therapy. Given that the vast majority of CBT process research has been conducted in the context of adult psychotherapy, we also review relevant adult research as a framework for understanding adolescent process research and to inform future investigations. Methodological issues are addressed and recommendations for future process research are raised.

Self-Referential Processing in Depressed Adolescents: A High-Density Event-Related Potential Study

Despite the alarming increase in the prevalence of depression during adolescence, particularly among female adolescents, the pathophysiology of depression in adolescents remains largely unknown. Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide an ideal approach to investigate cognitive-affective processes associated with depression in adolescents, especially in the context of negative self-referential processing biases. In this study, healthy (n = 30) and depressed (n = 22) female adolescents completed a self-referential encoding task while ERP data were recorded. To examine cognitive-affective processes associated with self-referential processing, P1, P2, and late positive potential (LPP) responses to negative and positive words were investigated, and intracortical sources of scalp effects were probed using low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). Additionally, we tested whether key cognitive processes (e.g., maladaptive self-view, self-criticism) previously implicated in depression related to ERP components. Relative to healthy female subjects, depressed females endorsed more negative and fewer positive words, and free recalled and recognized fewer positive words. With respect to ERPs, compared with healthy female adolescents, depressed adolescents exhibited greater P1 amplitudes following negative words, which was associated with a more maladaptive self-view and self-criticism. In both early and late LPP responses, depressed females showed greater activity following negative versus positive words, whereas healthy females demonstrated the opposite pattern. For both P1 and LPP, LORETA revealed reduced inferior frontal gyrus activity in response to negative words in depressed versus healthy female adolescents. Collectively, these findings suggest that the P1 and LPP reflect biased self-referential processing in female adolescents with depression. Potential treatment implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Cognitive-Interpersonal Model of Adolescent Depression: The Impact of Family Conflict and Depressogenic Cognitive Styles

The goal of the study is to examine whether family conflict generates peer-related stress and subsequent depressive symptoms among adolescents. In addition, in the context of the proposed mediation model, we examine whether negative cognitive styles about the self, cause, and consequences moderate the mediational pathway between peer stress and depressive symptoms. The study includes 179 adolescents (71 boys, 108 girls) ages 12 to 18, and the majority of the participants are Caucasian (79.5%). At the initial assessment, participants completed self-report measures regarding family conflict, negative cognitive style, stress, and depressive symptoms. Participants also completed 3 subsequent self-report assessments every 6 weeks in which information regarding stress and depressive symptoms were collected. Both within- and between-subject analyses indicate that dependent interpersonal peer stress partially mediates the relationship between greater family conflict and higher levels of depressive symptoms. Moreover, results of our moderated-mediation model indicate that negative cognitive styles regarding the self and cause, but not consequences, moderate the mediational pathway between peer stress and depressive symptoms. These findings underscore the importance of examining more comprehensive models that incorporate both cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability.