Risk for Adolescent Depression: Gender Differences and Contagion in Peer Networks

说明(申请人提供)：虽然同伴友谊为大多数青少年提供了支持的基础，但这些友谊的特点也可能导致抑郁的风险，并可能有助于解释青春期抑郁出现性别差异的原因。理论家们假设，与朋友共同思考的倾向可能反映了一种机制，通过这种机制，同龄人无意中在彼此之间培养了抑郁的认知脆弱性，同时也巩固了友谊。因此，这可能是一种社会强化的趋势，会增加青少年患抑郁症的风险。先前的研究已经支持这样的假设，即共同思考会增加抑郁的风险；然而，这种风险传递的机制仍然不清楚。这项拟议的研究试图将认知和人际风险模型整合到一项针对进入高中的第一学期的青少年新生的前瞻性研究中。主要目标1是通过检查青少年的适应和不适应结果来扩展先前关于共同反省的工作。我们假设，共同思考的朋友会报告更高质量的友谊，同时随着时间的推移，也会报告更多的抑郁症状。此外，我们预测，与朋友一起反省对抑郁风险的影响是通过青少年反省水平的增加来调节的。此外，我们预测，这个整合了人际关系和认知因素的模型将有助于解释女孩从青春期开始患抑郁症的高风险。主要目标2是在青少年社交网络的背景下评估这些影响。理论家假设，同龄人之间观察到的行为相似(包括抑郁症状)可能归因于选择与自己相似的同龄人(选择效应)和采用或发展同龄人的行为(传染效应)。到目前为止，关于抑郁的同伴传染的研究在很大程度上局限于二元同伴背景下。这项拟议的研究将应用社会网络建模来绘制青少年同龄人网络中更大范围内的抑郁传播影响图。社交网络分析的一个关键创新是能够定位烦躁不安的青少年在他们的同伴网络中的位置，并识别那些更容易受到来自烦躁不安的同伴的同伴传染影响的个体的特征。在这项拟议的研究中，我们将评估共同思考作为青少年社交网络中抑郁的同龄人传染机制的作用。此外，我们将确定共同反省对同伴传染效应的影响是否特定于抑郁和外化行为。拟议的研究结果将有助于确定高危青少年的具体风险机制，这是为抑郁症高危人群设计更有针对性的干预措施的必要步骤。 公共卫生相关性：青少年友谊的特点可能会增加他们患抑郁症的风险，特别是在青春期女孩中。这项拟议的研究代表了理解抑郁风险的同伴背景的重要一步，并将提供有关特定机制的信息，该机制可能有助于解释青春期抑郁出现性别差异的原因。因此，这项研究的结果可能会为那些风险最高的人制定更有针对性的预防/早期干预计划提供参考，目的是既防止抑郁症的发生，又培养更健康的友谊。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although peer friendships provide the basis of support for most adolescents, characteristics of these friendships may also confer risk to depression, and may help to explain the emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence. Theorists have hypothesized that the tendency to co-ruminate with one's friends may reflect a mechanism by which peers inadvertently foster cognitive vulnerability for depression amongst themselves, while simultaneously bolstering the friendship. Therefore, it may be a socially reinforcing tendency that increases risk for depression in adolescents. Previous research has supported the hypothesis that co-rumination increases risk for depression; however, the mechanisms by which this risk is conveyed remain unclear. The proposed study seeks to integrate cognitive and interpersonal models of risk in a prospective study of adolescent freshmen during their first semester transition into high school. Primary Aim 1 is to extend prior work on co- rumination by examining both adaptive and maladaptive outcomes in adolescents. We hypothesize that friends who co-ruminate will report higher-quality friendships while also reporting more depressive symptoms over time. In addition, we predict that the impact of co-ruminating with one's friends for depression risk is mediated by increased levels of rumination in adolescents. Further, we predict that this integrated model, which incorporates both interpersonal and cognitive components, will help to account for girls' heightened risk for depression beginning in adolescence. Primary Aim 2 is to evaluate these effects within the context of adolescents' social networks. Theorists have hypothesized that the similarity of behaviors observed between peers (including depressive symptoms) may be attributed to both selecting peers similar to oneself (selection effects) and adopting or developing peers' behaviors (contagion effects). To date, research on peer contagion for depression has been largely limited to the dyadic peer context. The proposed study will apply social network modeling to map depression contagion effects in the larger context of adolescents' peer networks. A key innovation of social network analyses is the ability to locate where dysphoric adolescents lie within their peer networks and to identify characteristics of individuals who are more versus less vulnerable to peer contagion effects from dysphoric peers. In the proposed study, we will evaluate the role of co-rumination as a mechanism for peer contagion of depression within adolescents' social networks. Further, we will determine whether the impact of co-rumination on peer contagion effects is specific to depression versus externalizing behaviors. The results of the proposed study will help to determine specific mechanisms of risk in at-risk adolescents, which is a necessary step in designing more focused interventions for those at greatest risk for depression. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Characteristics of adolescents' friendships may increase their risk for depression, particularly among adolescent girls. The proposed study represents an important step in understanding the peer context of depression risk, and will provide information on a specific mechanism that may help to explain the emergence of gender difference in depression during adolescence. Results from this study, therefore, may inform the development of more targeted prevention/ early intervention programs for those at greatest risk with the goal of both preventing depression onset and fostering healthier friendships.