Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T16:17:54.015Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age-varying associations between coping and depressive symptoms throughout adolescence and emerging adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2018

Anna Vannucci ,
Kaitlin M. Flannery Open the ORCID record for Kaitlin M. Flannery [Opens in a new window]  and
Christine McCauley Ohannessian
Anna Vannucci*
Affiliation:
Connecticut Children's Medical Center
Kaitlin M. Flannery
Affiliation:
Connecticut Children's Medical Center State University of New York at Cortland
Christine McCauley Ohannessian
Affiliation:
Connecticut Children's Medical Center University of Connecticut School of Medicine
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Anna Vannucci, MCenter for Behavioral Health, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106; E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to apply the novel technique of time-varying effect modeling to examine age-varying associations between specific coping strategies and depressive symptoms across adolescence and emerging adulthood (ages 14–24). The participants were drawn from a community sample and followed across 4 years of high school and once 5 years postgraduation (N = 1,251, 53% female, 58% non-Hispanic White). Coping and depressive symptom questionnaires were administered across all data collection time points. Time-varying effect modeling used all available data (N = 5,651 measurement occasions) and adjusted for gender. Venting emotions and denial were associated with more depressive symptoms at a similar magnitude across adolescence and emerging adulthood. A positive association between problem solving oriented strategies (planning, active coping) and depressive symptoms was not observed until age 17.5, after which the magnitude of the association strengthened. More frequent instrumental and emotional support seeking were linked to fewer depressive symptoms between ages 18.8 and 23.6. More frequent use of humor was associated with greater depressive symptoms from ages 14.0 to 14.6, but with fewer depressive symptoms from ages 16.8 to 18.8. The findings illuminate when and how associations between specific coping strategies and depressive symptoms may emerge and change across developmental age, generating both theoretical and clinical implications.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , May 2018 , pp. 665 - 681
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grant K01-AA015059 (C.M.O., Principal Investigator). We thank all of the adolescents and parents who participated in this study. We also acknowledge the study staff for their unmatched dedication to the implementation and conduct of this project and thank Sarosh Khan and Sonja Gagnon for their invaluable assistance in preparing this manuscript.

References

Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Alloy, L. B. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review, 96, 358–372.Google Scholar
Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 217–237.Google Scholar
Amirkhan, J., & Auyeung, B. (2007). Coping with stress across the lifespan: Absolute vs. relative changes in strategy. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 28, 298–317.Google Scholar
Arnett, J. J. (2015). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Auerbach, R. P., Abela, J. R., Zhu, X., & Yao, S. (2010). Understanding the role of coping in the development of depressive symptoms: Symptom specificity, gender differences, and cross-cultural applicability. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49, 547–561.Google Scholar
Bastin, M., Mezulis, A. H., Ahles, J., Raes, F., & Bijttebier, P. (2015). Moderating effects of brooding and co-rumination on the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms in early adolescence: A multi-wave study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 607–618.Google Scholar
Beardslee, W. R., Gladstone, T. R., & O'Connor, E. E. (2012). Developmental risk of depression: Experience matters. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 21, 261–278.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Brown, G., Steer, R. A., Eidelson, J. I., & Riskind, J. H. (1987). Differentiating anxiety and depression: A test of the cognitive content-specificity hypothesis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 179–183.Google Scholar
Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010). A developmental perspective on executive function. Child Development, 81, 1641–1660.Google Scholar
Blalock, J. A., & Joiner, T. E. Jr. (2000). Interaction of cognitive avoidance coping and stress in predicting depression/anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 47–65.Google Scholar
Brière, F. N., Janosz, M., Fallu, J.-S., & Morizot, J. (2015). Adolescent trajectories of depressive symptoms: Codevelopment of behavioral and academic problems. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57, 313–319.Google Scholar
Burnett, S., & Blakemore, S. J. (2009). The development of adolescent social cognition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1167, 51–56.Google Scholar
Cairns, K. E., Yap, M. B. H., Pilkington, P. D., & Jorm, A. F. (2014). Risk and protective factors for depression that adolescents can modify: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Journal of Affective Disorders, 169, 61–75.Google Scholar
Calkins, A. W., McMorran, K. E., Siegle, G. J., & Otto, M. W. (2015). The effects of computerized cognitive control training on community adults with depressed mood. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 43, 578–589.Google Scholar
Calmes, C. A., & Roberts, J. E. (2008). Rumination in interpersonal relationships: Does co-rumination explain gender differences in emotional distress and relationship satisfaction among college students? Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 577–590.Google Scholar
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283.Google Scholar
Chiang, C.-T., Rice, J. A., & Wu, C. O. (2001). Smoothing spline estimation for varying coefficient models with repeatedly measured dependent variables. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 96, 605–619.Google Scholar
Cicognani, E. (2011). Coping strategies with minor stressors in adolescence: Relationships with social support, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41, 559–578.Google Scholar
Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 87–127.Google Scholar
Cristea, I. A., Kok, R. N., & Cuijpers, P. (2015). Efficacy of cognitive bias modification interventions in anxiety and depression: Meta-analysis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 206, 7–16.Google Scholar
Cuijpers, P., Geraedts, A. S., van Oppen, P., Andersson, G., Markowitz, J. C., & van Straten, A. (2011). Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 581–592.Google Scholar
de Voogd, E. L., Wiers, R. W., Zwitser, R. J., & Salemink, E. (2016). Emotional working memory training as an online intervention for adolescent anxiety and depression: A randomised controlled trial. Australian Journal of Psychology, 68, 228–238.Google Scholar
Domes, G., Schulze, L., Böttger, M., Grossmann, A., Hauenstein, K., Wirtz, P. H., … Herpertz, S. C. (2010). The neural correlates of sex differences in emotional reactivity and emotion regulation. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 758–769.Google Scholar
Dozois, D. J., Martin, R. A., & Bieling, P. J. (2009). Early maladaptive schemas and adaptive/maladaptive styles of humor. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 33, 585–596.Google Scholar
Dunbar, J. P., McKee, L., Rakow, A., Watson, K. H., Forehand, R., & Compas, B. E. (2013). Coping, negative cognitive style and depressive symptoms in children of depressed parents. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37, 18–28.Google Scholar
Erickson, S. J., & Feldstein, S. W. (2007). Adolescent humor and its relationship to coping, defense strategies, psychological distress, and well-being. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 37, 255–271.Google Scholar
Eskin, M., Ertekin, K., & Demir, H. (2008). Efficacy of a problem-solving therapy for depression and suicide potential in adolescents and young adults. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 227–245.Google Scholar
Evans-Polce, R. J., Vasilenko, S. A., & Lanza, S. T. (2015). Changes in gender and racial/ethnic disparities in rates of cigarette use, regular heavy episodic drinking, and marijuana use: Ages 14 to 32. Addictive Behaviors, 41, 218–222.Google Scholar
Fields, L., & Prinz, R. J. (1997). Coping and adjusment during childhood and adolescence. Clinical Psychology Review, 17, 937–976.Google Scholar
Flannery, K. M., & Smith, R. L. (2016). The effects of age, gender, and gender role ideology on adolescents’ social perspective-taking ability and tendency in friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Advance online publication.Google Scholar
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219–239.Google Scholar
Frewen, P. A., Brinker, J., Martin, R. A., & Dozois, D. J. (2008). Humor styles and personality-vulnerability to depression. Humor, 21, 179–195.Google Scholar
Galambos, N., Leadbeater, B., & Barker, E. (2004). Gender differences in and risk factors for depression in adolescence: A 4-year longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 16–25.Google Scholar
Garcia, C. (2010). Conceptualization and measurement of coping during adolescence: A review of the literature. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42, 166–185.Google Scholar
Garnefski, N., Legerstee, J., Kraaij, V., Van Den Kommer, T., & Teerds, J. A. N. (2002). Cognitive coping strategies and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A comparison between adolescents and adults. Journal of Adolescence, 25, 603–611.Google Scholar
Garrison, C. Z., Addy, C. L., Jackson, K. L., McKeown, R. E., & Waller, J. L. (1991). The CES-D as a screen for depression and other psychiatric disorders in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 636–641.Google Scholar
Gelhaar, T., Seiffge-Krenke, I., Borge, A., Cicognani, E., Cunha, M., Loncaric, D., … Metzke, C. W. (2007). Adolescent coping with everyday stressors: A seven-nation study of youth from central, eastern, southern, and northern Europe. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 4, 129–156.Google Scholar
Haan, N. (2013). Coping and defending: Processes of self-environment organization. Oxford: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Haarasilta, L., Marttunen, M., Kaprio, J., & Aro, H. (2005). Major depressive episode and physical health in adolescents and young adults: Results from a population-based interview survey. European Journal of Public Health, 15, 489–493.Google Scholar
Hamilton, J. L., Stange, J. P., Shapero, B. G., Connolly, S. L., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2013). Cognitive vulnerabilities as predictors of stress generation in early adolescence: Pathway to depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 1027–1039.Google Scholar
Hammen, C. (2005). Stress and depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 293–319.Google Scholar
Hammen, C. (2006). Stress generation in depression: Reflections on origins, research, and future directions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 1065–1082.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L. (2009). Development of sex differences in depressive and co-occurring anxious symptoms during adolescence: Descriptive trajectories and potential explanations in a multiwave prospective study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38, 460–472.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2001). Development of gender differences in depression: An elaborated cognitive vulnerability–transactional stress theory. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 773–796.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2002). Measuring cognitive vulnerability to depression in adolescence: Reliability, validity, and gender differences. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31, 491–504.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., Oppenheimer, C., Jenness, J., Barrocas, A., Shapero, B. G., & Goldband, J. (2009). Developmental origins of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression: Review of processes contributing to stability and change across time. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 1327–1338.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., Wetter, E., & Cheely, C. (2008). Sex differences in child and adolescent depression: A developmental psychopathological approach. In Abela, J. R. Z. & Hankin, B. L. (Eds.), Handbook of child and adolescent depression (pp. 377–414). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behavior Therapy, 35, 639–665.Google Scholar
He, X.-Q., Wu, X.-W., Tang, H.-B., & Hu, Q.-Z. (2015). Mediating effect of humor style between attachment and depression in college students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 23, 285–289.Google Scholar
Hoek, W., Schuurmans, J., Koot, H. M., & Cuijpers, P. (2012). Effects of Internet-based guided self-help problem-solving therapy for adolescents with depression and anxiety: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 7, e43485.Google Scholar
Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78, 169–183.Google Scholar
Hyde, J. S., Mezulis, A. H., & Abramson, L. Y. (2008). The ABCs of depression: Integrating affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. Psychological Review, 115, 291–313.Google Scholar
Ingram, R. E., & Luxton, D. D. (2005). Vulnerability-stress models. In B.L. Hankin & J. R. Z. Abela (Eds.), Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability-stress perspective (pp. 32–46). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Joormann, J., & Quinn, M. E. (2014). Cognitive processes and emotion regulation in depression. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 308–315.Google Scholar
Kato, T. (2015). Frequently used coping scales: A meta-analysis. Stress and Health, 31, 315–323.Google Scholar
Kelly, M. M., Tyrka, A. R., Price, L. H., & Carpenter, L. L. (2008). Sex differences in the use of coping strategies: Predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Depression and Anxiety, 25, 839–846.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C., Petukhova, M., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Wittchen, H. U. (2012). Twelve-month and lifetime prevalence and lifetime morbid risk of anxiety and mood disorders in the United States. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 21, 169–184.Google Scholar
Kuiper, N. A. (2012). Humor and resiliency: Towards a process model of coping and growth. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8, 475–491.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Liu, R. T. (2013). Stress generation: Future directions and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 406–416.Google Scholar
Liu, R. T., & Alloy, L. B. (2010). Stress generation in depression: A systematic review of the empirical literature and recommendations for future study. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 582–593.Google Scholar
Mahmoud, J. S. R., Staten, R. T., Hall, L. A., & Lennie, T. A. (2012). The relationship among young adult college students’ depression, anxiety, stress, demographics, life satisfaction, and coping styles. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 33, 149–156.Google Scholar
Malooly, A. M., Flannery, K. M., & Ohannessian, C. M. (2017). Coping mediates the association between gender and depressive symptomatology in adolescence. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41, 185–197.Google Scholar
Malouff, J. M., Thorsteinsson, E. B., & Schutte, N. S. (2007). The efficacy of problem solving therapy in reducing mental and physical health problems: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 46–57.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, K. A., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2012). Interpersonal stress generation as a mechanism linking rumination to internalizing symptoms in early adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 41, 584–597.Google Scholar
Mennin, D. S., Holaway, R. M., Fresco, D. M., Moore, M. T., & Heimberg, R. G. (2007). Delineating components of emotion and its dysregulation in anxiety and mood psychopathology. Behavior Therapy, 38, 284–302.Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2000). The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 504–511.Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Aldao, A. (2011). Gender and age differences in emotion regulation strategies and their relationship to depressive symptoms. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 704–708.Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 400–424.Google Scholar
Oldehinkel, A. J., & Bouma, E. M. (2011). Sensitivity to the depressogenic effect of stress and HPA-axis reactivity in adolescence: A review of gender differences. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35, 1757–1770.Google Scholar
Pettit, J. W., Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., Roberts, R. E., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2010). Developmental relations between depressive symptoms, minor hassles, and major events from adolescence through age 30 years. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119, 811–824.Google Scholar
Phelps, S. B., & Jarvis, P. A. (1994). Coping in adolescence: Empirical evidence for a theoretically based approach to assessing coping. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 23, 359–371.Google Scholar
Rnic, K., Dozois, D. J., & Martin, R. A. (2016). Cognitive distortions, humor styles, and depression. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 12, 348–362.Google Scholar
Rohde, P., Lewinsohn, P. M., Klein, D. N., Seeley, J. R., & Gau, J. M. (2012). Key characteristics of major depressive disorder occurring in childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood. Clinical Psychological Science, 1, 41–53.Google Scholar
Rose, A. J., Glick, G. C., Smith, R. L., Schwartz-Mette, R. A., & Borowski, S. K. (2016). Co-rumination exacerbates stress generation among adolescents with depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Advance online publication.Google Scholar
Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 98–131.Google Scholar
Rueger, S. Y., Malecki, C. K., Pyun, Y., Aycock, C., & Coyle, S. (2016). A meta-analytic review of the association between perceived social support and depression in childhood and adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 142, 1017–1067.Google Scholar
Russell, M. A., Vasilenko, S. A., & Lanza, S. T. (2016). Age-varying links between violence exposure and behavioral, mental, and physical health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59, 189–196.Google Scholar
Ryan-Wenger, N. M. (1992). A taxonomy of children s coping strategies: A step toward theory development. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62, 256–263.Google Scholar
Schuler, M. S., Vasilenko, S. A., & Lanza, S. T. (2015). Age-varying associations between substance use behaviors and depressive symptoms during adolescence and young adulthood. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 157, 75–82.Google Scholar
Schwartz-Mette, R. A., & Smith, R. L. (2016). When does co-rumination facilitate depression contagion in adolescent friendships? Investigating intrapersonal and interpersonal factors. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Advance online publication.Google Scholar
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (1995). Stress, coping and relationships in adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2011). Coping with relationship stressors: A decade review. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 196–210.Google Scholar
Seiffge-Krenke, I., & Stemmler, M. (2002). Factors contributing to gender differences in depressive symptoms: A test of three developmental models. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 405–417.Google Scholar
Selye, H. (2013). Stress in health and disease. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann.Google Scholar
Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J., & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: A review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 216–269.Google Scholar
Skinner, E. A., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2015). Coping across the lifespan. In Wright, J. D. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences (pp. 887–894). Oxford: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Somerville, L. H., & Casey, B. (2010). Developmental neurobiology of cognitive control and motivational systems. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 20, 236–241.Google Scholar
Sontag, L. M., & Graber, J. A. (2010). Coping with perceived peer stress: Gender-specific and common pathways to symptoms of psychopathology. Developmental Psychology, 46, 1605–1620.Google Scholar
Spendelow, J. S., Simonds, L. M., & Avery, R. E. (2016). The relationship between co-rumination and internalizing problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 24, 512–527.Google Scholar
Tan, X., Shiyko, M. P., Li, R., & Li, Y. (2012). A time-varying effect model for intensive longitudinal data. Psychological Methods, 17, 61–77.Google Scholar
Twenge, J. M., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children's depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 578–588.Google Scholar
Vasilenko, S. A., & Lanza, S. T. (2014). Predictors of multiple sexual partners from adolescence through young adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55, 491–497.Google Scholar
Ward, R. M., & Hay, M. C. (2015). Depression, coping, hassles, and body dissatisfaction: Factors associated with disordered eating. Eating Behaviors, 17, 14–18.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., Orvaschel, H., & Padian, N. (1980). Children's symptom and social functioning self-report scales comparison of mothers’ and children's reports. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168, 736–740.Google Scholar
Whiteford, H. A., Degenhardt, L., Rehm, J., Baxter, A. J., Ferrari, A. J., Erskine, H. E., … Johns, N. (2013). Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders. Lancet, 382, 1575–1586.Google Scholar
Young, J. F., Benas, J. S., Schueler, C. M., Gallop, R., Gillham, J. E., & Mufson, L. (2016). A randomized depression prevention trial comparing interpersonal psychotherapy. Prevention Science, 17, 314–324.Google Scholar
Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Skinner, E. A. (2011). The development of coping across childhood and adolescence: An integrative review and critique of research. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 1–17.Google Scholar
Zoogman, S., Goldberg, S. B., Hoyt, W. T., & Miller, L. (2015). Mindfulness interventions with youth: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 6, 290–302.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Vannucci et al. supplementary material

Vannucci et al. supplementary material 1

Download Vannucci et al. supplementary material(File)
File 272.9 KB