(PS4-A8) Cognitive Vulnerability-stress Models of Depression Predict Specific Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents

Background: Adolescence represents a sensitive developmental period during which the rates of depression dramatically increase (Avenevoli et al., 2015). To better understand the etiology of depression, several cognitive vulnerability-stress models have been proposed, such as hopelessness theory (HT; Abramson et al., 1989) and response styles theory (RST; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). According to these models, individuals who possess maladaptive cognitive styles are more likely to experience depressive symptoms following negative life events than those who do not. Despite hypotheses that these models should predict some depressive symptoms over others (e.g., Alloy et al., 1997), research primarily has focused on examining total depressive symptoms, largely ignoring symptom components (Abela et al., 2009). Given the heterogeneous nature of depression, investigations into depression phenotypes are warranted to better understand these vulnerability-stress models and reconcile discrepant findings. Thus, the present study examined whether the interactions of negative life events and candidate cognitive styles implicated in HT and RST predicted specific depressive symptoms among community adolescents.

Method: Adolescents (n = 239, M_age = 15.91 years, SD = 1.54, 54% Female, 59% Black) completed self-report measures of negative inferential style (ACSQ-M; Alloy et al., 2012), rumination (CRSQ; Abela et al., 2004), and depressive symptoms (CDI; Kovacs, 1985). CDI items were summed into five symptom factors, including anhedonia, dysphoria, somatic concerns, negative self-concept, and functional difficulties (Huang & Dong, 2014; Chat et al., 2023). In addition, adolescents completed the Adolescent Life Events Questionnaire (ALEQ; Hankin & Abramson, 2002), to indicate frequency of negative life events spanning the past 6 months. Subsequently, participants were interviewed using the Life Events Interview (Safford et al., 2007) to determine whether events endorsed on the ALEQ met a priori event definitions and occurred during the desired time frame.

Results: Controlling for adolescents’ sex, hierarchical regression models detected negative inferential style-stress interaction effects on the depressive symptom factors of dysphoria (ß = .16, t = 2.91, p < .01, ΔR² =.027) and anhedonia (ß = .17, t = 3.00, p < .01, ΔR² =.030), but not negative self-concept (ß = .02, t = .36, p = .716, ΔR² < .001), somatic concerns (ß = .01, t = .11, p = .916, ΔR² < .001), or functional difficulties (ß = .04, t = .74, p = .458, ΔR² =.002). Similarly, rumination and stress significantly interacted to predict depressive symptom factors of dysphoria (ß = .18, t = 3.95, p < .001, ΔR² =.041) and anhedonia (ß = .13, t = 2.63, p < .01, ΔR² =.021), but not negative self-concept, somatic concerns, or functional difficulties (all ßs < .08, ts < 1.45, ps > .149, ΔR² < .007).

Conclusion: Negative inferential style and rumination interacted with frequency of negative life events over a 6-month period to predict some, but not all, symptoms of depression. Our results suggest that symptoms related to sad affect and motivational deficits are most affected by cognitive vulnerability-stress interactions during adolescence. Implications for theory, research, and practice will be discussed.