The validity of a developmentally based life-stress model of depression was evaluated in 88
clinic-referred youngsters. The model focused on (a) the role of child–environment
transactions, (b) the specificity of stress–psychopathology relations, and (c) the
consideration of both episodic and chronic stress. Semistructured diagnostic and life-stress
interviews were administered to youngsters and their parents. As predicted, in the total sample
child depression was associated with interpersonal episodic and chronic stress,
whereas externalizing disorder was associated with noninterpersonal episodic and
chronic stress. However, the pattern of results differed somewhat in boys and girls. Youngsters
with comorbid depression and externalizing disorder tended to experience the highest stress
levels. Support was obtained for a stress-generation model of depression, wherein children
precipitate stressful events and circumstances. In fact, stress that was in part dependent on
children's contribution distinguished best among diagnostic groups, whereas independent
stress had little discriminative power. Results suggest that life-stress research may benefit from
the application of transactional models of developmental psychopathology, which consider how
children participate in the construction of stressful environments.
The effects of depression and Axis I comorbidity on subsequent self-generated life stress were examined in a longitudinal sample of 134 late adolescent women. The results indicated that specific forms of psychopathology constitute a risk factor for future self-generated episodic stress, even when controlling for prior chronic stress. Comorbid depression had a particularly salient effect in the prediction of stress related to interpersonal conflicts. The effects of family psychopathology and sociotropy were mediated through participant psychiatric status, whereas autonomy made an independent contribution to the prediction of episodic stress. These results support C. Hammen's (1991b) stress generation model in a community sample, demonstrating how individuals with depression play a role in the creation of stress, and also refine prior work by showing that only the comorbid form of depression is associated with subsequent conflict-related stress.
This longitudinal study of 137 female high school seniors investigated the
relationship of attachment cognitions, current psychological functioning, and psychological
functioning 12 months later. Attachment cognitions, assessed with the Revised Adult Attachment
Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, were significantly associated with current
symptomatology. The Revised Adult Attachment Scale, in interaction with initial
symptomatology, predicted depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and personality
disorders 12 months later. The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment parent subscales
predicted eating disorder and personality disorder symptomatology, whereas the peer subscales
predicted substance abuse, eating disorder, and personality disorder symptomatology.
The relationship between personality pathology and depression has been the focus of increasing attention, but few investigators have examined this issue prospectively or in adolescent community samples. The present study used both self report and interviewer assessments of personality disorder symptomatology and depression in a sample of 155 late adolescent women followed over three years. Personality pathology cluster and total scores demonstrated moderate to fairly high degrees of stability, indicating endurance of these traits in late adolescence. As predicted, Axis II symptoms were associated with concurrent depressive symptomatology. Overall, self-reported personality disorder symptoms, as well as those specifically in Clusters A and B, predicted interviewer-rated depression over two years beyond the contribution of initial depression, indicating that subclinical Axis II symptoms are a risk factor for subsequent depressive symptomatology.
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