The prevalence and nature of depression among adolescents in the general population
has received considerable empirical attention in the last decade. Although researchers
and clinicians agree that depressive symptoms and depressive disorders are distressing
to youths and may have wide ranging effects on their health and development, specific
features of depression noted during adolescence (e.g., different manifestations of
symptoms) warrant further examination. Using the domain of developmental
psychopathology as a conceptual framework, the present study (a) examined sex and
age differences in adolescents’ reports of depressive symptoms; (b) explored the
extent to which other symptoms were associated with adolescents’ depressive
symptoms; and (c) identified subtypes of adolescents who manifested their symptoms
of depression in different ways. Data were collected from 379 community-dwelling
adolescents (193 females, 186 males) ranging in age from 12 to 19 years. During one
class period, youths completed anonymous questionnaires assessing their depressive
and comorbid symptoms, personality style, and relationships with their mothers and
fathers. Descriptive analyses showed that adolescent females reported higher levels of
depressive symptoms than adolescent males and that adolescents’ reports of depressive
symptoms tended to show a linear increase across age. Correlational analyses
revealed that females who reported depressive symptoms were likely to also report
anxiety symptoms whereas males who reported depressive symptoms also reported
symptoms of anxiety, substance use, school misconduct, and antisocial behaviour. A
K-means cluster analysis of the MAPI personality scales identified three subtypes of
adolescents who manifested their depressive symptoms in different ways. These
subtypes were labelled Isolated-Discontented, Engaged-Intrusive, and Inhibited-
Insecure and were distinguished by their levels of depressive symptoms, patterns of
co-occurring symptoms, relationships with their mothers, adolescent-specific concerns
(e.g., personal esteem), and behavioural correlates (e.g.. impulse control). The
discussion focuses on the clinical implications of these subtypes of depressed
adolescents (e.g.. their clinical presentation, need for treatment, and appropriateness
of specific interventions) as well as factors that may be contributing to the high level
of depressive symptoms reported by the adolescents in this sample. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9442 |
| Date | 13 June 2018 |
| Creators | Sears, Heather Ann |
| Contributors | Galambos, N. L. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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