Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T01:44:04.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The risk and protective factors associated with depression and anxiety in a national sample of Irish adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2015

B. Dooley ,
A. Fitzgerald Open the ORCID record for A. Fitzgerald [Opens in a new window]  and
N. M. Giollabhui
B. Dooley*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland Headstrong – The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, Dublin, Ireland
A. Fitzgerald
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
N. M. Giollabhui
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr B. Dooley, School of Psychology, University College Dublin, F202 Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this study is to examine the risk and protective factors associated with anxiety and depression in a representative sample of Irish adolescents.

Methods

Data used in this study were drawn from a subset of the My World Survey (MWS). The MWS-Second Level (MWS-SL) subset consists of a randomised sample of 72 schools, with a final sample of 6085 students. Outcome measures were depression and anxiety. Risk and protective factors included measures within the socio-demographic, psychosocial and risk-taking domains.

Results

One in three adolescents experienced elevated levels of depression and anxiety. Age, gender, maternal education, family composition, parental mental health as well as the experience of racism and bereavement were associated with elevated distress. Psychosocial factors associated with depression and anxiety included optimism, personal competence, life-satisfaction, self-esteem, anger, body dissatisfaction, family competence, maternal and paternal criticism, experiencing the break-up of a romantic relationship, school and peer connectedness as well as the availability of one good adult. Finally, engaging in substance misuse was found to increase the likelihood of anxiety and depression.

Conclusion

Since factors protecting and putting adolescents at risk of anxiety and depression exist at every level of the adolescent’s ecological system, the study supports a community-based approach to youth mental health.

Keywords

Adolescentsanxietydepressionprotectiverisk
Type
Original Research
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 32 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Youth Mental Health , March 2015 , pp. 93 - 105
Copyright
© College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 2015 

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.)

References

Berg-Nielsen, TS, Arne, V, Dahl, AA (2002). Parenting related to child and parental psychopathology: a descriptive review of the literature. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 7, 529–552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boelen, P, Reijntjes, A (2009). Negative cognitions in emotional problems following romantic relationship break‐ups. Stress and Health 25, 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cannon, M, Coughlan, H, Clarke, M, Harley, M, Kelleher, I (2013). The Mental Health of Young People in Ireland: A Report of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research across the Lifespan (PERL) Group. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland: Dublin.Google Scholar
Carver, CS, Gaines, JG (1987). Optimism, pessimism and postpartum depression. Cognitive Therapy Research 11, 449–462.Google Scholar
Costello, E, Copeland, W, Angold, A (2011). Trends in psychopathology across the adolescent years: what changes when children become adolescents, and when adolescents become adults? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 52, 1015–1025.Google Scholar
Costello, DM, Swendsen, J, Rose, JS, Dierker, LC (2008). Risk and protective factors associated with trajectories of depressed mood from adolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 76, 173–183.Google Scholar
Crawford, JR, Henry, JD (2003). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): normative data and latent structure in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology 42, 111–131.Google Scholar
Creed, PA, Patton, W, Bartrum, D (2002). Multidimensional properties of the LOT-R: effects of optimism and pessimism on career and well-being related variables in adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment 10, 42–61.Google Scholar
Davila, J (2008). Depressive symptoms and adolescent romance: theory, research, and implications. Child Development Perspectives 2, 26–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davison, TE, McCabe, MP (2006). Adolescent body image and psychosocial functioning. The Journal of Social Psychology 146, 15–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Education and Skills (2013). Well-being in post primary schools. Guidelines for mental health promotion and suicide prevention. Department of Education and Skills; Health Service Executive & Department of Health, Dublin.Google Scholar
Department of Health and Children (2006). A Vision for Change: Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy. Stationery Office: Dublin.Google Scholar
Dooley, B, Fitzgerald, A (2013). Methodology on the my world survey (MWS): a unique window into the world of adolescents in Ireland. Early Intervention in Psychiatry 7, 12–22.Google Scholar
Farrell, LJ, Barrett, PM (2007). Prevention of childhood emotional disorders: reducing the burden of suffering associated with anxiety and depression. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 12, 58–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fergusson, DM, Boden, JM, Horwood, LJ (2011). Structural models of the comorbidity of internalizing disorders and substance use disorders in a longitudinal birth cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 46, 933–942.Google Scholar
Glaesmer, H, Rief, W, Martin, A, Mewes, R, Brähler, E, Zenger, M, Hinz, A (2012). Psychometric properties and population‐based norms of the life orientation test revised (LOT‐R). British Journal of Health Psychology 17, 432–445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilmartin, M (2012). The Changing Landscape of Irish Migration, 2000-2012. National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis: Maynooth.Google Scholar
Hawker, DS, Boulton, MJ (2000). Twenty years’ research on peer victimization and psychosocial maladjustment: a meta‐analytic review of cross‐sectional studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 41, 441–455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, JD, Crawford, JR (2005). The short-form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): construct validity and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology 44, 227–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkle, DE, Wiersma, W, Jurs, SG (2003). Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Cengage: Andover.Google Scholar
Hjemdal, O, Aune, T, Reinfjell, T, Stiles, TC, Friborg, O (2007). Resilience as a predictor of depressive symptoms: a correlational study with young adolescents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 12, 91–104.Google Scholar
Hjemdal, O, Friborg, O, Stiles, TC, Martinussen, M, Rosenvinge, JH (2006). A new rating scale for adolescent resilience: grasping the central protective resources behind healthy development. Measurement and Evaluation in Counselling Development 39, 84–96.Google Scholar
Hjemdal, O, Vogel, PA, Solem, S, Hagen, K, Stiles, TC (2011). The relationship between resilience and levels of anxiety, depression, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in adolescents. Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy 18, 314–321.Google Scholar
Huebner, ES, Suldo, SM, Valois, RF, Drane, JW, Zullig, K (2004). Brief multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale: sex, race, and grade effects for a high school sample. Psychological Reports 94, 351–366.Google Scholar
Joyner, K, Udry, JR (2000). You don’t bring me anything but down: adolescent romance and depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41, 369–391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karcher, MJ, Lee, Y (2002). Connectedness among Taiwanese middle school students: a validation study of the Hemingway measure of adolescent connectedness. Asia Pacific Education Review 3, 95–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, P (2013). Evidence of Racism and Discrimination from a Local Perspective (http://emn.ie/files/p_20131120023733treateddifferently-2.pdf). Accessed 14 August 2014.Google Scholar
Kenny, R, Dooley, B, Fitzgerald, A (2013). Interpersonal relationships and emotional distress in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence 36, 351–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, RC, Amminger, GP, Aguilar‐Gaxiola, S, Alonso, J, Lee, S, Ustun, TB (2007). Age of onset of mental disorders: a review of recent literature. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 2, 359–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kessler, RC, Avenevoli, S, Costello, EJ, Georgiades, K, Green, JG, Gruber, MJ, He, J, Koretz, D, McLaughlin, K, Petukhova, M, Sampson, N, Zaslavsky, A, Merikangas, K (2012). Prevalence, persistence, and sociodemographic correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication adolescent supplement. Archives of General Psychiatry 69, 372–380.Google Scholar
Kim-Cohen, J, Caspi, A, Moffitt, TE, Harrington, H, Milne, BJ, Poulton, R (2003). Prior juvenile diagnoses in adults with mental disorder: developmental follow-back of a prospective-longitudinal cohort. Archives of General Psychiatry 60, 709–717.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim‐Spoon, J, Cicchetti, D, Rogosch, FA (2013). A longitudinal study of emotion regulation, emotion liability‐negativity, and internalizing symptomatology in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Child Development 84, 512–527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirwin, KM, Hamrin, V (2005). Decreasing the risk of complicated bereavement and future psychiatric disorders in children. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing 18, 62–78.Google Scholar
Knight, JR, Sherritt, L, Shrier, LA, Harris, SK, Chang, G (2002). Validity of the CRAFFT substance abuse screening test among adolescent clinic patients. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 156, 607–614.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knight, JR, Shrier, L, Bravender, T, Farrell, M, Vander Bilt, J, Shaffer, H (1999). A new brief screen for adolescent substance abuse. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 153, 591–596.Google Scholar
Krupnick, JL, Green, BL, Stockton, P, Goodman, L, Corcoran, C, Petty, R (2004). Mental health effects of adolescent trauma exposure in a female college sample: exploring differential outcomes based on experiences of unique trauma types and dimensions. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes 67, 264–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewinson, PM, Gotlib, IH, Lewinsohn, M, Seeley, JR, Allen, NB (1998). Gender differences in anxiety disorders and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 107, 109.Google Scholar
Lovibond, PF, Lovibond, SH (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy 33, 335–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynch, F, Mills, C, Daly, I, Fitzpatrick, C (2005). Challenging times: prevalence of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviours in Irish adolescents. Journal of Adolescence 29, 555–573.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, M, Carr, A, Burke, L, Carroll, L, Byrne, S (2006). The Clonmel Project: Mental Health Service Needs of Children and Adolescents in the South East of Ireland. (http://www.lenus.ie/hse/bitstream/10147/44644/1/6159.pdf). Accessed 15 August 2014.Google Scholar
Martin, RC, Dahlen, ER (2005). Cognitive emotion regulation in the prediction of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger. Personality and Individual Differences 39, 1249–1260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGraw, K, Moore, S, Fuller, A, Bates, G (2008). Family, peer and school connectedness in final year secondary school students. Australian Psychologist 43, 27–37.Google Scholar
Meneses-Gaya, CD, Zuardi, AW, Loureiro, SR, Crippa, JAS (2009). Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): an updated systematic review of psychometric properties. Psychology & Neuroscience 2, 83–97.Google Scholar
Merikangas, KR, He, JP, Burstein, M, Swanson, SA, Avenevoli, S, Cui, L, Benjet, C, Georgiades, K, Swendsen, J (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in US adolescents: results from the national comorbidity survey replication–adolescent supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 49, 980–989.Google Scholar
Murphy, K, Sahm, L, McCarthy, S, Lambert, S, Byrne, S (2013). Substance use in young persons in Ireland, a systematic review. Addictive Behaviors 38, 2392–2401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelemans, SA, Hale, W, Branje, SJT, Hawk, ST, Meeus, WHJ (2014). Maternal criticism and adolescent depressive and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms: a 6-year longitudinal community study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 42, 755–766.Google Scholar
Neumann, A, van Lier, PA, Frijns, T, Meeus, W, Koot, HM (2011). Emotional dynamics in the development of early adolescent psychopathology: a one-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 39, 909–911.Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S (2001). Gender differences in depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science 10, 173–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pape, K, Bjørngaard, JH, Holmen, TL, Krokstad, S (2012). The welfare burden of adolescent anxiety and depression: a prospective study of 7500 young Norwegians and their families: the HUNT study. BMJ Open 2, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paxton, SJ, Neumark-Sztainer, D, Hannan, PJ, Eisenberg, ME (2006). Body dissatisfaction prospectively predicts depressive mood and low self-esteem in adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 35, 539–549.Google Scholar
Proctor, CL, Linley, PA, Maltby, J (2009). Youth life satisfaction: a review of the literature. Journal of Happiness Studies 10, 583–630.Google Scholar
Repetti, RL, Taylor, SE, Seeman, TE (2002). Risky families: family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychological Bulletin 128, 330–366.Google Scholar
Resnick, MD, Bearman, PS, Blum, RW, Bauman, KE, Harris, KM, Jones, J, Tabor, J, Beuhing, T, Sieving, R, Shew, M, Ireland, M, Bearinger, L, Udry, R (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the national longitudinal study on adolescent health. Journal of the American Medical Association 278, 823–832.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, M (1965). Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton University Press: Princeton.Google Scholar
Roth, JL, Brooks-Gunn, J (2003). What is a youth development program? Identification of defining principles. In Handbook of Applied Developmental Science: Vol. 2. Enhancing the Life Chances of Youth and Families (ed. F. Jacobs, D. Wertlieb and R. M. Lerner), pp. 197–223. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks.Google Scholar
Saban, A, Flisher, AJ (2010). The association between psychopathology and substance use in young people: a review of the literature. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 42, 37–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santis, R, Garmentdia, ML, Acuña, G, Alvarado, ME, Arteaga, O (2009). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as a screening instrument for adolescents. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 103, 155–158.Google Scholar
Saunders, JB, Aasland, OG, Babor, TF, de la Fuente, JR, Grant, M (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption: II. Addiction 88, 791–804.Google Scholar
Scheier, MF, Carver, CS (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology 4, 219–247.Google Scholar
Seligson, JL, Huebner, ES, Valois, RF (2003). Preliminary validation of the brief multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale (BMSLSS). Social Indicators Research 61, 121–145.Google Scholar
Shochet, IM, Dadds, MR, Ham, D, Montague, R (2006). School connectedness is an underemphasized parameter in adolescent mental health: results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 35, 170–179.Google Scholar
Skrove, M, Romundstad, P, Indredavik, MS (2013). Resilience, lifestyle and symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescence: the young-HUNT study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 48, 407–416.Google Scholar
Sowislo, JF, Orth, U (2013). Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin 139, 213–240.Google Scholar
Sterrett, EM, Jones, DJ, McKee, LG, Kincaid, C (2011). Supportive non-parental adults and adolescent psychosocial functioning: using social support as a theoretical framework. American Journal of Community Psychology 48, 284–295.Google Scholar
Stewart, T, Suldo, S (2011). Relationships between social support sources and early adolescents’ mental health: the moderating effect of student achievement level. Psychology in the Schools 48, 1016–1033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tully, PJ, Zajac, IT, Venning, AJ (2009). The structure of anxiety and depression in a normative sample of younger and older Australian adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 37, 717–726.Google Scholar
Twenge, JM, 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vega, WA, Aguilar-Gaxiola, S, Andrade, L, Bijl, R, Borges, G, Caraveo-Anduaga, JJ, DeWit, D, Heeringa, S, Kessler, R, Kolody, B, Merikangas, K, Molnar, B, Walters, E, Warner, L, Wittchen, H (2002). Prevalence and age of onset for drug use in seven international sites: results from the international consortium of psychiatric epidemiology. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 68, 285–297.Google Scholar
Vickers, KS, Vogeltanz, ND (2000). Dispositional optimism as a predictor of depressive symptoms over time. Personality and Individual Differences 28, 259–272.Google Scholar
Vostanis, P, Graves, A, Meltzer, H, Goodman, R, Jenkins, R, Brugha, T (2006). Relationship between parental psychopathology, parenting strategies and child mental health: findings from the GB national study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 41, 509–514.Google Scholar
Whiteside-Mansell, L, Corwyn, RF (2003). Mean and covariance structures analyses: an examination of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale among adolescents and adults. Educational and Psychological Measurement 63, 163–173.Google Scholar
Windle, G, Bennett, K, Noyes, J (2011). A methodological review of resilience measurement scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 9, 1–18.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, FJ (2005). Social and economic determinants of disparities in professional help‐seeking for child mental health problems: evidence from a national sample. Health Services Research 40, 1514–1533.Google Scholar