ATTACHMENT PROCESSES AND ADOLESCENT DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

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DESCRIPTION(adapted from Investigator's abstract): This application describes a study that seeks to explore pathogenic mechanisms underlying associations between attachment insecurity and risk for adolescent depression. The primary aim of the proposed research is to evaluate a mediational model linking maternal representations to the development of depressive symptoms among middle adolescents. It is hypothesized that internalization of a negative maternal representation is linked to maladaptive strategies for securing self worth, which in turn sensitizes adolescents to stressful events; and that negative maternal representations undermine the use of social support. It is proposed that the combination of heightened stress reactivity and the under-utilization of support increases adolescents' vulnerability to depressive symptoms, particularly in the context of stressful events. This model is examined prospectively using transition to high school as a normative adolescent stressor. The contributions of multiple pathogenic mechanisms to the development of adolescent depressive symptoms are evaluated using this model, including psychosocial stress, stress reactivity, maladaptive cognitions and coping strategies, and schematic representations. The relative contributions of two mediational pathways (cognitions about self and others) would be examined in relation to variation in depressive symptomatology. The predictive specificity of the model for depressive versus externalizing symptoms would also be examined. Data for testing the model would be obtained from following a community sample of 165 adolescents across the transition from middle to high school. Multi-source and multi-method measures and structural equation modeling would be used to evaluate the proposed model. This is a revised submission of an application for an R03 small grant to a newer, less experienced investigator.