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Associations Between Interpretation Bias and Depression in Adolescents

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Abstract

Interpretation biases have been shown to play a role in adult depression and are a target in cognitive behavioural therapy. Adolescence is a key risk period for the development of depression and a period of rapid cognitive and emotional development but little research has investigated the relationship between interpretation biases and depression in adolescents. This study adapted a measure of interpretation bias, the Ambiguous Scenarios Test for Depression, for adolescents and evaluated its reliability and validity. A community sample of 206 young people aged 12–18 years completed a validated measure of depression symptoms (Mood and Feelings Questionnaires) and the adapted Ambiguous Scenarios Test. The Ambiguous Scenarios Test for Depression in Adolescents had good internal consistency and split half reliability. Depression symptoms were associated with participants’ ratings of the valence of ambiguous situations and with interpretation biases. Importantly, symptoms of depression and anxiety were independently associated with interpretation bias. This research suggests that interpretation biases can be measured in this age group, that negative interpretation biases exist in adolescents and that these are associated with depression symptoms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK

    Faith Orchard, Laura Pass & Shirley Reynolds

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  1. Faith Orchard
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  2. Laura Pass
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  3. Shirley Reynolds
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Correspondence to Faith Orchard.

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Faith Orchard, Laura Pass and Shirley Reynolds declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (national and institutional). Informed consent was obtained from all individual subjects participating in the study.

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No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Orchard, F., Pass, L. & Reynolds, S. Associations Between Interpretation Bias and Depression in Adolescents. Cogn Ther Res 40, 577–583 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9760-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9760-6

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