Temperament and Symptom Pathways to the Development of Adolescent Depression

Abstract

This study examined the influence of internalizing and externalizing symptoms during early adolescence on the subsequent development of depressive disorder. The role that temperament plays in predisposing individuals to these particular pathways was also examined. Logistical regression analyses revealed that internalizing symptoms and social-externalizing problems were significant risk pathways to the development of depression. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that high negative emotionality, high affiliation, low effortful control and low surgency were significant vulnerability factors for the internalizing symptom pathway, whereas low effortful control was the only significant mediational predictor for the social-externalizing problem pathway. As such, high levels of effortful control acted as a protective factor for the development of depression across both symptom pathways, suggesting that is may be an impo1iant target for prevention strategies.