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Longitudinal Relations between Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Youth: Coping as a Mediator

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Abstract

The present prospective study examined the relations among stressful life events, coping, and depressive symptoms in children at varied risk for depression. Participants were 227 children between 7 and 17 years old (mean age = 12.13 years, SD = 2.31, 54.6 % female) who were part of a longitudinal study of depressed and nondepressed parents and their children. Youth completed measures assessing stressful life events and coping strategies at four time points over 22 months. Children’s depressive symptoms were assessed at each time point by clinical interviews of parents and children, and children’s self-report. Structural equation modeling indicated that stressful life events significantly predicted subsequent depressive symptoms. Bootstrap analyses of the indirect effects in three different models revealed that primary control engagement coping and disengagement coping strategies partially mediated the relation between stressful life events and children’s depressive symptoms across time. Regarding the direction of effects, more consistent relations were found for coping as a mediator of the link from stress to depressive symptoms than from symptoms to stress. Thus, one potential mechanism by which stressful life events may contribute to depressive symptoms in children is through less use of primary control coping and greater use of disengagement coping strategies. This is consistent with the view that the adverse effects of stress may contribute to impairments in the ability to cope effectively.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01MH57822, R01MH57834, R01MH057977; T32 MH018921; and UL1 RR024975/TR000445). These funding agencies had no further role in the study design, data collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or writing of this report. The authors are grateful to all of the children and parents who participated in this study. We also would like to acknowledge Steven Hollon, Robert DeRubeis, Richard Shelton, Jay Amsterdam, Sona Dimidjian, and Bruce Compas for their assistance with this work.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 0552 Peabody, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203-5721, USA

    Lindsay D. Evans, Sarah A. Frankel & Judy Garber

  2. Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, 310C Hyer Hall, PO Box 750442, Dallas, TX, 75275, USA

    Chrystyna Kouros

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Elizabeth McCauley

  4. Child Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Elizabeth McCauley & Kelly A. Schloredt

  5. Couple and Family Therapy, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 1601 Cherry Street, Room 728, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Guy S. Diamond

  6. Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, W3636, Seattle Children’s Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98145, USA

    Kelly A. Schloredt

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  1. Lindsay D. Evans
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Correspondence to Lindsay D. Evans.

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Evans, L.D., Kouros, C., Frankel, S.A. et al. Longitudinal Relations between Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Youth: Coping as a Mediator. J Abnorm Child Psychol 43, 355–368 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9906-5

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