The Temporal Sequence of Social Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms Following Interpersonal Stressors During Adolescence

Abstract

Social anxiety and depressive symptoms dramatically increase and frequently co-occur during adolescence. Although research indicates that general interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment predict symptoms of social anxiety and depression, it remains unclear how these stressors contribute to the sequential development of these internalizing symptoms. Thus, the present study examined the sequential development of social anxiety and depressive symptoms following the occurrence of interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment. Participants included 410 early adolescents (53% female; 51% African American; Mean age =12.84 years) who completed measures of social anxiety and depressive symptoms at three time points (Times 1–3), as well as measures of general interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and emotional maltreatment at Time 2. Path analyses revealed that interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and emotional maltreatment predicted both depressive and social anxiety symptoms concurrently. However, depressive symptoms significantly mediated the pathway from interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment to subsequent levels of social anxiety symptoms. In contrast, social anxiety did not mediate the relationship between these stressors and subsequent depressive symptoms. There was no evidence of sex or racial differences in these mediational pathways. Findings suggest that interpersonal stressors, including the particularly detrimental stressors of peer victimization and familial emotional maltreatment, may predict both depressive and social anxiety symptoms; however, adolescents who have more immediate depressogenic reactions may be at greater risk for later development of symptoms of social anxiety.

What Explains Correlates of Peer Victimization? A Systematic Review of Mediating Factors

“…Social-cognitive processes might be less salient than emotional processes and might be less relevant in explaining why peer victimization affects adjustment and wellbeing. The summary of the reviewed studies suggests that explanations might generally be quite complex because chain mediations are likely where, for instance, peer victimization increases loneliness (Baker and Bugay 2011), which results in more depressive symptoms, which, in turn, predict higher anxiety (Hamilton et al 2016). Future studies are needed that elucidate the sequence of consequences of peer victimization.…”

“…Hamilton et al (2016) explored depression as mediator between peer victimization and anxiety and, vice versa, anxiety as mediator on the link between peer victimization and depression. Only the latter was empirically supported, that is, victimized adolescents were at greater risk for depression, which, in turn, increased their social anxiety risk.…”

Multiple Mediation of Loneliness and Negative Emotions in the Relationship between Adolescents’ Social Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

“…It is important that depression and anxiety in particular are studied in adolescence (La Greca & Harrison, 2005). Social anxiety and depression are the two most widely en-countered psychological disorders (Davidson, Wingate, Grant, Judah & Mills, 2011), very often accompanying each other, as common mental health problems among adolescents (Hamilton et al, 2016;Klemanski, Curtiss, McLaughlin & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2016;La Greca, Ehrenreich-May, Mufson & Chan, 2016). High levels of social anxiety are common between the ages of 10 and 19.…”

“…Ollendick & Yule (1990) found that children with high levels of depression had high levels of social evaluation fear and anxiety, as well. Many studies showed that social anxiety accompanied depression and it was one of the important predictors of depression (Beesdo et al, 2007;Davidson et al, 2011;Gültekin & Dereboy, 2011;Horn & Wuyek, 2010;Ottenbreit, Dobson & Quigley, 2014;Stein et al, 2001;Hamilton et al, 2016;Kessler et al, 1999;Kocabaşoğlu, Doksat & Doğangün, 2004;Mehtalia & Vankar, 2004;Nepon, Flett, Hewitt & Molnar, 2011;Ohayon & Schatzberg, 2010).…”

Temporal associations between social anxiety and depressive symptoms and the role of interpersonal stress in adolescents

“…Van Zalk and Tilfors () observed an association between social anxiety symptoms and prospective depressive symptoms in adolescents aged between 13 and 15‐year old but did not find evidence for an association in the reverse direction. In contrast, the opposite was observed in a study by Hamilton et al (), in which depressive symptoms were shown to be a precursor of social anxiety symptoms but social anxiety symptoms were not predictive of subsequent depressive symptoms following stress in a sample of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 13 years. The current study aims to further investigate the reciprocal associations between social anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms throughout the entire period of adolescence.…”