Dataset Information

Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early life stress (ELS) consists of child family adversities (CFA: negative experiences that happened within the family environment) and/or peer bullying. ELS plays an important role in the development of adolescent depressive symptoms and clinical disorders. Identifying factors that may reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents with ELS may have important public mental health implications.

Methods

We used structural equation modelling and examined the impact of adolescent friendships and/or family support at age 14 on depressive symptoms at age 17 in adolescents exposed to ELS before age 11. To this end, we used structural equation modelling in a community sample of 771 adolescents (322 boys and 477 girls) from a 3 year longitudinal study. Significant paths in the model were followed-up to test whether social support mediated or moderated the association between ELS and depressive symptoms at age 17.

Results

We found that adolescent social support in adolescence is negatively associated with subsequent depressive symptoms in boys and girls exposed to ELS. Specifically, we found evidence for two mediational pathways: In the first pathway family support mediated the link between CFA and depressive symptoms at age 17. Specifically, CFA was negatively associated with adolescent family support at age 14, which in turn was negatively associated with depressive symptoms at age 17. In the second pathway we found that adolescent friendships mediated the path between peer bullying and depressive symptoms. Specifically, relational bullying was negatively associated with adolescent friendships at age 14, which in turn were negatively associated with depressive symptoms at age 17. In contrast, we did not find a moderating effect of friendships and family support on the association between CFA and depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

Friendships and/or family support in adolescence mediate the relationship between ELS and late adolescent depressive symptoms in boys and girls. Therefore, enhancing affiliate relationships and positive family environments may benefit the mental health of vulnerable youth that have experienced CFA and/or primary school bullying.

SUBMITTER: van Harmelen AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4856353 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents.

van Harmelen Anne-Laura AL Gibson Jenny L JL St Clair Michelle C MC Owens Matt M Brodbeck Jeannette J Dunn Valerie V Lewis Gemma G Croudace Tim T Jones Peter B PB Kievit Rogier A RA Goodyer Ian M IM

PloS one 20160504 5

<h4>Background</h4>Early life stress (ELS) consists of child family adversities (CFA: negative experiences that happened within the family environment) and/or peer bullying. ELS plays an important role in the development of adolescent depressive symptoms and clinical disorders. Identifying factors that may reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents with ELS may have important public mental health implications.<h4>Methods</h4>We used structural equation modelling and examined the impact of adolesc ...[more]

PMID: 27144447

Similar Datasets

Project description:AimTo gain insight into the relations between protective/risk family interactions and depressive symptoms in adolescent boys and girls.MethodA self-reported cross-sectional survey was conducted on a representative sample of 1191 secondary school students (617 girls and 574 boys) aged from 14 to 19 years, with a median of 16, from all secondary schools in the Primorsko-goranska County, Croatia in January and February 2010. Students reported their depressive symptoms, perceptions about the relationship with their mother and father, family activities, and parents' conflict resolution strategies. Data were analyzed by hierarchical multiple regression to calculate the effects of family supportive and harmful interactions on depressive symptoms in girls and boys.ResultsDepressive symptoms were reported often and very often by 19.1% of girls and 15.8% of boys. Girls' assessment of the family relations was significantly more positive than boys', including the assessment of family activities, constructive family conflict resolution, or father's and mother's warmth and affection. Multiple correlation analysis revealed that the examined family variables accounted for 16.3% of the variance of depressive symptoms in boys and for 17.2% in girls. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed a difference in the relation of family variables and depressive symptoms between boys and girls. Depressive symptoms in girls were more linked to the lack of protective family factors (9.9% of the explained variance in girls vs. 5.5% in boys), while depressive symptoms in boys were more linked to the existence of harmful family factors (10.8% of the explained variance in boys vs.7.3% in girls).ConclusionFamily activities and the father's warmth and affection have a higher significance for girls than for boys, while destructive parental conflict and the mother's aggression and hostility are equally significant for both girls and boys. These results indicate the targets for family-based preventive and intervention programs for depression in adolescents.

Dataset Information

Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents.

Similar Datasets

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