(PS4-A10) Examining the Buffering Effect of Cognitive Reappraisal on the Relationship Between Stressful Events and Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence

Adolescence is a developmental period during which there is an increase in the experience of stressful life events (Larson & Ham, 1993). The stress exposure model purposes that those who are exposed to higher levels of stressful events will demonstrate higher rates of psychopathology, including depressive symptoms (Hankin et al., 2001; Nolen-Hoeksema & Hilt, 2009). Adaptive emotion regulation strategies, including those focused on reducing the intensity of emotions through cognitive and behavioral coping techniques, have been shown to protect against psychopathology (Rottenberg & Gross, 2007). One such emotion regulation strategy is cognitive reappraisal, which involves changing the manner in which one thinks about an event to shift one’s emotional reaction about it. Research with adults has found that cognitive reappraisal may buffer the impact of stress on depressive symptoms (Troy et al., 2012). However, research evidenced mixed findings when investigating this relationship among adolescents (Shapero et al., 2019). Our study aims to clarify whether cognitive reappraisal buffers the relationship between stress and depression among young adolescents. We hypothesize that 1) higher levels of self-reported stressful experiences will predict higher levels of depressive symptoms, 2) the relationship between stress and depression will be moderated by cognitive reappraisal, such that as cognitive reappraisal increases, the association between stress and symptoms of depression will weaken. We expect these hypotheses will extend both cross-sectionally and prospectively.

 Participants were 136 adolescents (M_age = 13.03, SD = 0.90; 51.3% female) recruited from middle schools in the Pacific Northwest. Participants attended two laboratory visits, at which trait cognitive reappraisal, experiences of stressful life events, depressive symptoms, and demographic variables were collected via self-report questionnaires. Consistent with hypotheses, depressive symptoms at T2 were significantly correlated with depressive symptoms at T1 (r = .86, p < .001). When examined cross-sectionally, the moderation analysis indicated a significant main effect of stressful events (B = 2.54, p = .001), but not of cognitive reappraisal (B = -0.06, p = .485) on depressive symptoms at the same timepoint (T1). The interaction between stressful events and cognitive reappraisal was significant (B = -0.06, p = .001). Our prospective moderation analysis indicated a significant main effect of cognitive reappraisal (B = -0.14, p = .046), but not of stressful events (B = -0.55, p = 0.249) on depressive symptoms at T2. However, the interaction between stressful events and cognitive reappraisal was not significant (B = 0.02, p = 0.112). These significant cross-sectional findings are consistent with developmental models of psychopathology, which posit that an adolescent’s ability to regulate their emotions in response to stressors protects against outcomes such as depressive symptoms (Kovacs et al., 2008). Given the increase in stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence, it is important that research continue to investigate protective emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal.