Research suggests the ability to differentiate discrete emotions protects against psychopathology. Little is known about daily processes through which negative and positive emotion differentiation (NED, PED) influence depressive symptomatology. We examined NED and PED as moderators of associations between daily processes (negative/positive experiences, brooding, and savoring) and daily depressive symptoms. Hypotheses were tested using intensive longitudinal techniques in two samples oversampled for depression: 157 young adults (Study 1) and 50 veterans recruited from VA primary care (Study 2). In Study 1, low NED predicted stronger associations between daily brooding and depressive symptoms. In Study 2, low NED predicted stronger reactivity to daily negative events. In both studies, low PED strengthened salutary effects of positive experiences and savoring on symptoms. Largely consistent across demographically divergent samples, results suggest both low NED and PED enhance effects of daily events and perseverative self-focus on fluctuations in depressive symptoms.

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Negative emotion differentiation (NED) refers to the ability to identify and label discrete negative emotions. Low NED has been previously linked to depression and other indices of low psychological well-being. However, this construct has rarely been explored during adolescence, a time of escalating depression risk, or examined in the context of naturalistic stressors. Further, the association between NED and depression has never been tested longitudinally. We propose a diathesis-stress model wherein low NED amplifies the association between stressful life events (SLEs) and depression. A sample of 233 community-recruited midadolescents (Mage 15.90 years, 54% female) completed diagnostic interviews and reported on mood and daily stressors 4 times per day for 7 days. SLEs were assessed using a semistructured interview with diagnosis-blind team coding based on the contextual threat method. Follow-up interviews were conducted 1.5 years after baseline. Low NED was correlated with depression but did not predict prospective changes in depression as a main effect. Confirming predictions and supporting a diathesis-stress model, low NED predicted (a) within-subjects associations between daily hassles and momentary depressed mood, (b) between-subjects associations between SLE severity and depression, and (c) prospective associations between SLE severity and increases in depression at follow-up. Results were specific to negative (vs. positive) emotion differentiation. Results suggest that low NED is primarily depressogenic in the context of high stress exposure.

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Childhood adversity (CA) is known to predict sensitization to proximal stressors. Researchers have suggested that disruptions in hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal axis functioning may be a biological mechanism. If so, CA may predict altered associations between proximal life stress and markers of cortisol secretion. We examined whether CA moderates associations between recent episodic stress and (a) the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and (b) depressive symptoms, in 241 adolescents aged 14-17 years (cortisol n ¼ 196). Salivary cortisol was sampled at 0, 30, and 60 min postawakening for 2 days. The CAR was calculated as the area under the curve with respect to increase and waking cortisol. CA and episodic stress were assessed using contextual-threat-method-coded objective interviews. CA significantly interacted with episodic stress to predict both the CAR and depression. Among those with low CA, episodic stress predicted increased CAR but did not predict depression. For adolescents with high CA, episodic stress predicted lower CAR and higher depression. These interactions were found only for independent (uncontrollable, fateful) events, and not for dependent (self-generated) stress. Increased allostatic load resulting from CA exposure may interfere with adolescents' ability to optimally regulate their CAR in relation to recent stress, contributing to increased depression risk.

Negative emotion differentiation (NED) is the ability to precisely discern negatively-valenced emotional states. Low NED has been linked to numerous negative outcomes. However, little is known about the conditions under which individual differences in NED emerge, particularly during adolescence, a potentially important developmental stage. We examined associations between NED (assessed using intraclass correlations between negative emotion [NE] ratings collected via intensive longitudinal methods), parental variables, and age. Adolescents (N=233, M age =15.90, 53% female) and their parents completed interview measures of depression and selfreport questionnaires; adolescents then completed a seven-day ecological momentary assessment. Lower NED was associated with greater parental depression, greater authoritarian parenting style, and lower parental attachment security. Age was negatively and linearly associated with NED. Results held controlling for mean NE and adolescent depression, although authoritarian parenting was non-significant controlling for other developmental variables. Findings suggest healthy parent-child relationships may relate to adolescents' ability to perceive NEs with nuance.