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Self-Competence and Depressive Symptom Trajectories during Adolescence

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology volume 46, pages 1089–1109 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-competence and subsequent depressive symptom trajectories, by gender, in a community sample of adolescents (N = 753; 53% female; 65% non-Hispanic White). Data were collected annually for three years beginning when adolescents were in the 10th and 11th grades (Age: M = 16.09, SD = 0.72 years). Adolescents provided self-reports of self-competence at baseline and depressive symptoms every year. In latent growth curve models examining the overall trajectory of depressive symptoms, higher global self-worth and self-competence in close friendships were significantly associated with greater decreases in depressive symptoms (ps < 0.05). In contrast, higher academic self-competence was associated with more attenuated decreases in depressive symptoms (p = 0.001). When examining subgroups of latent depressive symptom trajectories within the context of growth mixture modeling, higher self-competence in physical appearance was associated with a decreased likelihood of membership in trajectory classes characterized by high initial, then decreasing depressive symptoms or and low initial, then increasing depressive symptoms (ps < 0.01). Among girls, higher global self-worth and self-competence in close friendship and academic domains were associated with membership in a trajectory class distinguished by high stable depressive symptoms (ps < 0.01); these associations were not observed among boys (ps > 0.05). Findings suggest that the competence-based model of depression is valid and applicable during middle-to-late adolescence, and emphasize the importance of considering gender and individual differences in the developmental course of depressive symptoms to gain a more nuanced understanding of the role of self-competence in depressive symptom trajectories.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all of the adolescents and parents who participated in this study. We would also like to acknowledge the Adolescent Adjustment Project staff for their unmatched dedication to the implementation and conduct of this study.

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  1. Center for Behavioral Health, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT, 06106, USA

    Anna Vannucci & Christine McCauley Ohannessian

  2. Department of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    Christine McCauley Ohannessian

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  1. Anna Vannucci
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Correspondence to Anna Vannucci.

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This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant K01-AA015059 (PI: Ohannessian).

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Ethical approval by the University of Delaware Institutional Review Board, and informed consent and adolescent informed assent were obtained.

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Vannucci, A., McCauley Ohannessian, C. Self-Competence and Depressive Symptom Trajectories during Adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46, 1089–1109 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0340-3

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Keywords

  • Depressive symptoms
  • Adolescence
  • Self-competence
  • Self-worth
  • Gender differences