Research article summary (published 29 Jun 2009):

Predictors and pathways from infancy to symptoms of anxiety and depression in early adolescence.

Full Abstract

Data from a prospective 11-year longitudinal survey were used to identify early predictors and pathways to symptoms of anxiety and depression at 12-13 years of age, and to examine whether there were unique predictors of anxious versus depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to explore longitudinal relations between contextual (maternal distress, family adversities, and social support) and temperamental (shyness and emotionality) risk factors in their prediction of informant-consistent symptoms of anxiety and depression. The results show that early risk factors can explain 38% of the variance in boys' covarying symptoms of anxiety and depression in early adolescence, and 25% of variance in girls' covarying symptoms. Two main pathways were identified. One pathway was through temperament, as nearly all risk factors were partly mediated through child emotionality in midchildhood. Another pathway was through early contextual risk factors, with all direct and indirect contextual impact from before 5 years of age. Family adversity uniquely predicted depressive symptoms. These findings underscore the persisting impact of contextual predictors in families with children less than 5 years of age. The importance of early interventions to prevent adolescent internalizing problems is stressed.

Author information

Author/s: Karevold, Evalill (E); Røysamb, Espen (E); Ystrom, Eivind (E); Mathiesen, Kristin S (KS);

Affiliation: Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. evalill.karevold(-atsign-)fhi.no

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Developmental psychology (Dev Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 45 (issue 4) : pp 1051-60

Dates: Created 2009/07/09; Completed 2009/09/14;

PMID: 19586179, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/14/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Anxiety - diagnosis; psychology Child Child of Impaired Parents - psychology Child, Preschool Depression - diagnosis; psychology Emotions Female Humans Infant Life Change Events Longitudinal Studies Male

Male Models, Psychological Mother-Child Relations Norway Personality Development Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data Prospective Studies Psychometrics Risk Factors Shyness Social Environment Social Support Temperament

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• Ambivalence and defense: effects of a repressive style on normal adolescents' and young adults' mixed feelings. 29 Apr 1992
• Depressive tendencies and susceptibility to anxiety: differential personality correlates. 28 Feb 1996
• Pooling data from multiple longitudinal studies: the role of item response theory in integrative data analysis. 28 Feb 2008
• Depression and anxiety in young children of substance abusers. 30 May 1997
• Psychological problems in adolescence. 30 Dec 1978
• Cognitions, depressive symptoms, and development in adolescents. 30 Jan 1993
• The specificity of sociotropy-autonomy personality dimensions to depression vs. anxiety. 27 Feb 1995
• Specificity of information processing styles to depressive symptoms in youth psychiatric inpatients. 30 May 2001
• Assessment of childhood depression, anxiety, and aggression: convergent and discriminant validity of self-, parent-, teacher-, and peer-report measures. 30 Mar 1994
• The Interval General Health Questionnaire. 30 Oct 1990

See 100+ related articles.

Related Article Map

Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. - Title only. More help.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.