Different Stressors, Different Strategies, Different Outcomes: How Domain-Specific Stress Responses Differentially Predict Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 244285
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 42 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2013 Pages: 1183-1193
• Author(s): Katey A. Nicolai; Tyler Laney; Amy H. Mezulis
• Date Published: August 2013
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined how stress is related to mental health outcomes in adolescence.

Abstract

As a time of notably increased stress and a marked rise in depressive symptoms, adolescence is a key period in which to examine how stress is related to mental health outcomes. Many studies examine stress as a unitary construct; however, research suggests that how adolescents respond to stress within different domains may differentially predict depression. The current study used an 8-week weekly diary design to assess how adolescents' cognitive appraisals, rumination, and co-rumination in response to dependent, independent, social, and nonsocial stressors differentially predicted depressive symptoms. Participants were 111 high school students (72 percent female) ages 14-19 years (mean age 16.4). Results indicated that rumination and co-rumination about dependent and social events, rather than independent or nonsocial events, prospectively predicted depressive symptoms. Negative cognitive appraisals prospectively predicted depressive symptoms regardless of domain. This study provides support for the hypothesis that adolescents' responses to stress in different domains differentially predict depressive symptoms. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.