Search

For a long time, associations between temperamental reactivity, emotion regulation (ER) strategies, and depression in youth were studied with a primary focus on the adverse impact of the negative emotionality (NE) temperament dimension and maladaptive ER strategies. The current study aims to answer the question whether positive emotionality (PE) and adaptive ER strategies also play a role in these associations. In a convenience sample of 176 youth (9-18 years; M = 13.58, SD = .94) data were obtained on NE and PE, the use of both maladaptive and adaptive ER strategies, and depressive symptoms. Results indicate that higher levels of NE and lower levels of PE were both associated with more depressive symptoms. Additionally, we found the interaction of NE and PE to be significantly related to depressive symptoms, with lower levels of PE being a vulnerability factor, facilitating the relationship between higher levels of NE and symptoms. Third, higher levels of NE were associated with the use of more maladaptive ER strategies, but were unrelated to adaptive ER strategies. There was no association between PE, and either maladaptive or adaptive ER strategies. Fourth, higher levels of maladaptive ER strategies, and lower levels of adaptive ER strategies were both associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Finally, no evidence was found for the mediation of ER strategies in the relationship between temperamental reactivity and depressive symptoms. Current study findings underline the need of identifying resilience factors for depression in youth. Insight into such factors is pivotal for the successful development and implementation of prevention and intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment theory assumes that children who lack trust in maternal availability for support are more inclined to interpret maternal behavior in congruence with their expectation that mother will remain unavailable for support. To provide the first test of this assumption, early adolescents (9-13 years old) were asked to assess whether ambiguous interactions with mother should be interpreted in a positive or a negative way. In our sample ( n = 322), results showed that early adolescents' lack of trust in their mother's availability for support was related to more negative interpretations of maternal behavior. The associations remained significant after controlling for depressive mood. The importance of these findings for our understanding of attachment theory, attachment stability, and clinical practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotion regulation (ER)-specificity hypothesis assumes that a specific psychological problem is characterized by a specific maladaptive ER strategy. This hypothesis will be investigated for six child-DSM symptom clusters (Study 1) and for depressive symptoms (Study 2). We also investigated whether certain emotion regulation strategies can be detected through different forms of symptom clusters. Study 1 includes 432 school aged non-referred youngsters (60 % girls; age range between 8 and 18 years) and Study 2 includes 128 school aged non-referred youngsters (55 % girls; age range between 10 and 14 years). A self-report questionnaire, FEEL-KJ investigates a wide range of adaptive and maladaptive ER strategies. DSM symptom clusters (affective, anxiety, somatic, conduct, oppositional and ADHD problems) were measured by parent report on the Child Behaviour Checklist; depressive symptoms were measured with the Child Depression Inventory. Youngsters with emotional problems have specifically less adaptive ER strategies. The relation with maladaptive ER strategies can only be detected with self-reported depressive symptoms. ER strategies problem-oriented action and acceptance are transdiagnostically related to both internalizing and externalizing problems. For affective, somatic, conduct and ADHD problems the ER-specificity hypothesis is confirmed. Investigating ER strategies could be of clinical relevance specifically in children with affective, somatic, conduct and ADHD problems. Next, training deficits in the ER strategies Problem-oriented action and Acceptance can be considered as important in the treatment of all children with emotional problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive theory is a prominent framework to study depression in both adults and adolescents. This theory stated that dysfunctional schemas are moderators (known as diathesis) in the association of current stress and psychopathology. However, in adolescents, less evidence has been found so far to corroborate the importance of these schemas. This study aimed to investigate in a cross-sectional design the moderating role of adolescents' early maladaptive schemas (EMS) on depressive symptoms. This will be studied in relation to both important daily stressors (i.e., maternal, paternal and peer rejection) and stressful life events. METHOD Adolescents ( N = 228, age 12-18 years), selected from inpatient and outpatient clinical settings and a non-referred sample, completed questionnaires and interviews measuring psychopathology, cognitive schemas, peer rejection, maternal and paternal rejection, and stressful life events. Parents completed questionnaires about their adolescent measuring psychopathology, stressful life events and peer rejection, as well as their own parental behaviour. RESULTS Correlational analyses revealed significant associations between the study variables. Evidence was found for an interaction effect between the adolescents' EMS and peer rejection in explaining depressive symptoms, but only in late adolescents. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message Stress induced by maternal and, in lesser extent, paternal rejection is contributing to depressive symptoms primarily in younger and to lesser extent in older age groups., The quality of peer relationships becomes an increasingly salient source of distress as adolescence unfolds and is certainly an important mechanism affecting depression in adolescence., Maladaptive schemas only start functioning as a cognitive diathesis in late adolescence, increasing depression in response to peer-related distress., Since maladaptive schemas are not yet operating as cognitive vulnerability factors in early and middle adolescence, early interventions for depressive disorders may be more effective compared with treatment in later adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment security is an important resilience factor for children at risk for psychopathology, whereas attachment insecurity can be an important risk factor. Effects of attachment security on behavior problems may be partially explained by expectations regarding attachment figures' availability and the moderating effect of concurrent automatic biases in children's attentional processing of their mother on the link between attachment-related expectations and behavioral problems. This hypothesis was tested in two studies with 10-12 year old early adolescents (Study 1: N = 32; Study 2: N = 138). In both studies, the findings confirmed the moderation hypothesis, suggesting that less confidence in maternal support was related to more behavioral problems when children's attentional processing of mother was biased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]