The role of cognitive biases and negative life events in predicting later depressive symptoms in children and adolescents

Platt B, Sfärlea A, Löchner J, Salemink E, Schulte-Körne G (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology SAGE Publishing

Book Volume: 14

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.1177/20438087231184753

Abstract

Aims: Cognitive models propose that negative cognitive biases in attention (AB) and interpretation (IB) contribute to the onset of depression. This is the first prospective study to test this hypothesis in a sample of youth with no mental disorder. Methods: Participants were 61 youth aged 9–14 years with no mental disorder. At baseline (T1) we measured AB (passive-viewing task), IB (scrambled sentences task) and self-report depressive symptoms. Thirty months later (T2) we measured onset of mental disorder, depressive symptoms and life events (parent- and child-report). The sample included children of parents with (n = 31) and without (n = 30) parental depression. Results: Symptoms of depression at T2 were predicted by IB (ß =.35, p =.01) but not AB (ß =.05, p =.72) at T1. This effect was strongest for children who experienced multiple negative life events (F2,48 = 6.0, p =.018, ΔR2 =.08). IB did not predict depressive symptoms at T2 over-and-above the effect of depressive symptoms at T1 (ß =.21, p =.13). Discussion: These findings suggest that IB (but not AB) plays an important role in the aetiology of depression. Modifying IB may have a preventive effect on youth depression, particularly for youth who experience negative life events. This prospective study provides important foundations for future experimental studies.

Involved external institutions

Klinikum der Universität München DE Germany (DE) Universiteit Utrecht (UU) / Utrecht University NL Netherlands (NL)

How to cite

APA:

Platt, B., Sfärlea, A., Löchner, J., Salemink, E., & Schulte-Körne, G. (2023). The role of cognitive biases and negative life events in predicting later depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20438087231184753

MLA:

Platt, Belinda, et al. "The role of cognitive biases and negative life events in predicting later depressive symptoms in children and adolescents." Journal of Experimental Psychopathology 14.3 (2023).

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