Longitudinal Trajectories of Depression Symptoms in Adolescence: Psychosocial Risk Factors and Outcomes

Abstract

Variations in symptom trajectories within a population may represent distinct groups with different etiologies and outcomes. This study aimed to identify subgroups of depression symptom trajectories in a sample of adolescents, and to describe psychosocial attributes of the different groups. In a longitudinal study, 243 adolescents (121 males and 122 females), were assessed using a battery of measures of temperament, psychopathology, and psychological and behavioral functioning. Four phases of data collection over 7 years spanned average ages of the participants from 12 to 18 years old. Depressive symptoms from each phase were used to model latent class growth trajectories. A 4-group solution was selected as the best-fitting model: (1) ongoing stable low levels of depression; (2) very high depressive symptoms initially, but a steep decrease in symptoms over time; (3) moderately high depressive symptoms initially, but symptoms decreased over time; and (4) initially low levels of symptoms that increased over time. Trajectory group membership was associated with a range of psychosocial variables including temperament, childhood maltreatment, and young adult quality of life. Characterising these subgroups allows for a better understanding of how the interaction of risk factors increases the likelihood of depression and other poor outcomes, and highlights the importance of early interventions to prevent and treat adolescent depression.

Reciprocal Relationships between Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Screen Media Use during Adolescence

“…Ellis et al ( 2017 ) reviewed 18 studies and found that multiple trajectories of depressive symptoms, primarily three (e.g., Chaiton et al 2013 ; Diamantopoulou et al 2011 ; Mezulis et al 2014 ; Yaroslavsky et al 2013 ) or four (e.g., Ellis et al 2017 ; Reinke et al 2012 ; Stoolmiller et al 2005 ; Vannucci and Ohannessian 2017 ) provided best model fit. A common trajectory across all of these studies was a large group with stable and low levels of depressive symptoms, often accompanied by groups with moderate or high numbers of symptoms.…”

Genetic susceptibility for major depressive disorder associates with trajectories of depressive symptoms across childhood and adolescence

“…Importantly, this body of work has shown that subtyping depression by its developmental trajectory can help identify the biological and environmental factors that shape the course of depressive symptoms over time (Ellis et al, 2017).…”

“…As such, more recent longitudinal studies have sought to model this time-dependent heterogeneity in depressive symptoms (as well as internalizing symptoms more broadly) by classifying individuals into subgroups based on their symptom trajectories over time. These studies have prospectively and repeatedly assessed depressive symptoms across an average of 3-6 years of development (Ellis et al, 2017); only a few include participants under 10 years old (Dekker et al, 2007;Kwong et al, 2019;Rice et al, 2018;Whalen, Sylvester, & Luby, 2017).…”

Psychosocial Risk Factors: its Relation with Social Cognition, Emotional Regulation and Well-Being

“…However, as Pender (1996) points out, it includes cognition and social support (Wu, Pender, & Noureddine, 2015). In addition, several investigations highlight the role played by the family in both health and risk prevention (Cuffe, McKeown, Addy, & Garrison, 2005;Fatori, Bordin, Curto, & De Paula, 2013;Ellis et al, 2017).…”