The phrase
"depressive problems" refers to difficulties a person may have with feeling sad or down for long periods of time. It can include symptoms like lack of energy, loss of interest in activities, and feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness.
Full definition
Only 15 % of girls reported a serious
depressive problem more than once across adolescence, and only one girl was depressed every time she participated in the study.
That is, girls with recurrent eating problems were most likely to have
depressive problems by mid adolescence.
Whereas in this study single episodes of depression seemed to result from these types of negative experiences, girls with recurrent
depressive problems during adolescence did not report experiencing more negative life events than other girls.
A developmental psychopathological approach was applied to eating and
depressive problems in adolescent girls.
Moreover, maternal rejection in preadolescence and increases in paternal rejection were associated with aggressive problems, whereas decreases in maternal rejection were associated with decreases in
depressive problems over time.
Less
severe depressive problems are much more pervasive, with as many as 35 % of adolescents experiencing a period of seriously depressed mood and increased depressive symptoms3.
For the study herein, we used the DSM - oriented scales (
i.e. depressive problems, anxiety problems, somatic problems, attention deficit / hyperactivity problems, oppositional defiant problems and conduct problems), which have good validity and clinical usefulness [49, 50].
Both structural (i.e., SES, familial psychopathology, family composition) and dynamic (i.e., parental warmth and rejection) family characteristics have been associated with aggressive and
depressive problem development.
Developmental trajectories of anxious and
depressive problems during the transition from childhood to adolescence: Personality × Parenting interactions.
Being admired or being liked: Classroom social status and
depressive problems in early adolescent girls and boys
Slightly more girls experienced
a depressive problem in mid-adolescence than at other times, with about 25 % of the girls having a serious problem with depressed feelings at that time.
Instead, these girls reported greater internalizing behaviors separate from the symptoms of
their depressive problem.
Second, social relationships were impaired by having
a depressive problem to a greater extent than by having an eating problem.
In some cases, instead of switching symptoms or problems, girls added
the depressive problem to an ongoing eating problem.
Most girls we studied did not have a serious eating or
depressive problem, and their body image was generally positive.
Although body - image problems are not a distinct psychological disorder, poor body image has been associated with both eating and
depressive problems.
As with eating problems,
depressive problems have been associated with dysfunction in multiple domains of girls» lives.
Girls who experienced these reported negative events having occurred in their lives — most often problems with peers — about the times that they had
the depressive problems.
We looked at the elements of bouncing back by comparing girls who experienced
a depressive problem during adolescence and either did or did not have a depressive problem during young adulthood.
Depressive problems were less common in the young adolescent and young adult periods, with about 17 % to 18 % of girls having a serious problem.
Depressive problems are even more common than eating problems among adolescent girls.
Specifically, it was apparent that some girls experienced
depressive problems during adolescence and then recovered (or «bounced back»), whereas others demonstrated more continuity in the experience of depressive problems.
We distinguish problems from clinical disorders in that girls who experience an eating or
depressive problem may not meet strict criteria for a diagnosable disorder but are still experiencing a significant number of unhealthy symptoms and impairment in their lives.
First, eating problems more often preceded
a depressive problem rather than the other way around.
Girls with both eating and
depressive problems We have described the experiences of having eating problems or depressive problems during adolescence.
Interestingly, young women who experienced
a depressive problem for the first time as young adults (a single episode) again reported more negative life events as adolescents than young women who always had more positive adjustment.
The late adolescence study: Charting the development of eating and
depressive problems The primary focus of the Late Adolescence Study was the development of adjustment and psychopathology through young adolescence (mean age = 14.31), mid-adolescence (mean age = 16.03), and the transition from late adolescence into young adulthood (mean age = 22.3).
It was hypothesized that Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy would reduce the symptoms of attachment disorder, aggressive and delinquent behaviors, social problems and withdrawal, anxiety and
depressive problems, thought problems, and attention problems among children who received Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy.
Means, SDs and ranges for the CBCL DSM - oriented scales were, respectively:
depressive problems 4.43, 4.16, 0 — 22; anxiety problems 3.84, 2.63, 0 — 11; somatic problems 2.11, 2.08, 0 — 11; attention deficit / hyperactivity problems 5.86, 3.82, 0 — 14; oppositional defiant problems 3.98, 2.81, 0 — 10; and conduct problems 3.42.
Finally, those who increased in
depressive problems became more aggressive during adolescence, whereas those who decreased in depressive problems became also less aggressive.
The moderating effect of SED on the association between BDNF and psychopathology was specific to
depressive problems, as the results were non-significant for measures on other scales (Table 3).
Aggressive and
depressive problems were assessed via subscales of the Youth / Adult Self - Report.
Interaction analyses indicated a significantly positive interaction between high SED and BDNF on
depressive problems, indicating that a positive correlation between BDNF and depressive problems was only positive in the children from the high SED group (Fig 1).