Dynamic Comorbidity and Prevention in High-Risk Youth

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study proposes to examine longitudinally the dynamic patterns of comorbidity between depression and conduct disorder throughout middle childhood and adolescence. The study capitalizes on an existing unique data set by proposing a follow-up of an evaluation, conducted by the PI, of one of the largest school-based violence prevention programs in the country, the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP). The RCCP curriculum targeted social-cognitive and interpersonal processes known to predict later antisocial behavior and psychopathology; the 1994-1996 RCCP evaluation included assessments of children's depressive symptoms, conduct disordered behaviors, ineffective social-cognitive processes, aggressive tendencies, and socially competent behavior. Aim I of the proposed study is to characterize the dynamic nature of comorbidity between depression and conduct disorder across middle childhood and into adolescence. Aim II is to examine whether comorbidity status in middle childhood as well as developmental trajectories of depression, conduct disorder, social-cognitive processes, and competence predict key outcomes in adolescence. Outcomes of academic achievement will be obtained from New York City Board of Education records for the full sample of 2260 students who completed reports of depression and conduct disorder in the original study; of this sample, 48 percent are female, 38 percent are Hispanic, 42 percent are Black, and 15 percent are White. Outcomes of depression, conduct disorder/delinquency, substance use, social-cognitive processes, and social-emotional competence will be assessed through individual interviews with a selected subsample of the original RCCP sample (N = 600), half of which will be strategically selected based on their initial comorbidity status (100 high comorbid, 100 high depression only, 100 high conduct disorder only) and half of which will be non-disordered children matched on demographic characteristics. The proposed study will provide a greater understanding of the role dynamic comorbidity in middle childhood in predicting adolescents' psychological and social adjustment as well as an evaluation of the effectiveness of a universal intervention in both preventing and mitigating the occurrence of comorbidity.