Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Self-esteem and Body-Related Predictors

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although depression is a common issue among youth, it is unclear how important developmental factors, such as body mass index (BMI), self-esteem, and eating-and weight-related disturbances relate to the development of depression across adolescence and into young adulthood. Gender differences in these relationships and the specific nature of these relationships among adolescent boys and young men require further study. Using multilevel growth curve modeling, this study examined the effects of BMI, self-esteem, and eating- and weight-related disturbances (i.e., body dissatisfaction and weight management effort) and their interactive effects with gender on the developmental trajectory of depressive symptoms using the Canadian-based National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (N = 4,359 ages 12–21, 48.7 % female). On average, depressive symptoms decreased slightly at ages 12 through 14, began to increase from ages 14 through 17, and then began to decrease through age 21. Adolescent girls were at increased risk for depressive symptoms throughout adolescence and young adulthood compared to boys. This effect was compounded by low levels of self-esteem across adolescence and young adulthood. Engaging in weight management effort was associated with lower initial levels of depressive symptoms in early adolescence. The study’s findings contribute to basic etiologic research regarding the trajectory of depressive symptoms in adolescence and young adulthood suggesting that mid-adolescents may be most vulnerable to depression compared to other adolescent age groups. The findings also underscore the importance of fostering positive self-esteem among adolescent girls and young women to prevent depression and exploring the protective effect of specific weight management strategies in future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abela, J. R. Z., & Hankin, B. L. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of depression in children and adolescents. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al Mamun, A., Cramb, S., McDermott, B. M., O’Callaghan, M., Najman, J. M., & Williams, G. M. (2007). Adolescents’ perceived weight associated with depression in young adulthood: A longitudinal study. Obesity, 15, 3097–3105. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.369.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bearman, S. K., & Stice, E. (2008). Testing a gender additive model: The role of body image in adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 1251–1263. doi:10.1007/s10802-008-9248-2.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cafri, G., Thompson, J. K., Ricciardelli, L., McCabe, M., Smolak, L., & Yesalis, C. (2005). Pursuit of the muscular ideal: Physical and psychological consequences and putative risk factors. Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 215–239. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2004.09.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cafri, G., van den Berg, P., & Thompson, J. K. (2006). Pursuit of muscularity in adolescent boys: Relations among biopsychosocial variables and clinical outcomes. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 283–291. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3502_12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control. (2011). About BMI for adults. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html.

  • Costello, D. M., Swendsen, J., Rose, J. S., & Dierker, L. C. (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. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.76.2.173.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, S. C., Duncan, T. E., & Hops, H. (1996). Analysis of longitudinal data within accelerated longitudinal designs. Psychological Methods, 1, 236–248. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.1.3.236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreiro, F., Seoane, G., & Senra, C. (2011). A prospective study of risk factors for the development of depression and disordered eating in adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40, 500–505. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.563465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreiro, F., Seoane, G., & Senra, C. (2012). Gender-related risk and protective factors for depressive symptoms and disordered eating in adolescence: A 4-year longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 607–622. doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9718-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frye, A. A., & Liem, J. H. (2011). Diverse patterns in the development of depressive symptoms among emerging adults. Journal of Adolescent Research, 26, 570–590. doi:10.1177/0743558411402336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galambos, N. L., Barker, E. T., & Krahn, H. J. (2006). Depression, self-esteem, and anger in emerging adulthood: Seven-year trajectories. Developmental Psychology, 42, 350–365. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.350.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gentile, P., & Rawana, J. S. (2013). Suicide ideation and attempts: Novel predictors of depressive symptom trajectories across adolescence and emerging adulthood (in preparation).

  • Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. E. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 128–140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hankin, B. L., Wetter, E., & Cheely, C. (2008). Sex differences in child and adolescent depression: A developmental psychopathological approach. In J. R. Z. Abela & B. L. Hankin (Eds.), Handbook of depression in children and adolescents (pp. 377–414). New York: Guilford Press.

    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. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.115.2.291.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Avenevoli, S., & Merikangas, K. R. (2001). Mood disorders in children and adolescents: An epidemiologic perspective. Biological Psychiatry, 49, 1002–1014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leadbeater, B., Thompson, K., & Gruppuso, V. (2012). Co-occurring trajectories of symptoms of anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiance from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 41, 719–730. doi:10.1080/15374416.2012.694608.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., Klein, D. N., & Gotlib, I. H. (2003). Psychosocial functioning of young adults who have experienced and recovered from major depressive disorder during adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 353–363. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.112.3.353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lowry, R., Galuska, D. A., Fulton, J. E., Wechsler, H., Kann, L., & Collins, J. L. (2000). Physical activity, food choice, and weight management goals and practices among US college students. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 18, 18–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacPhee, A. R., & Andrews, J. J. W. (2006). Risk factors for depression in early adolescence. Adolescence, 41, 435–466.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marcotte, D., Fortin, L., Potvin, P., & Papillon, M. (2002). Gender differences in depressive symptoms during adolescence: Role of gender-typed characteristics, self-esteem, body image, stressful life events, and pubertal status. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10, 29–42. doi:10.1177/106342660201000104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Smith, I. D., & Barnes, J. (1983). Multitrait-multimethod analyses of the Self-Description Questionnaire: Student–teacher agreement on multidimensional ratings of student self-concept. American Educational Research Journal, 20, 333–357. doi:10.3102/00028312020003333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Natsuaki, M. N., Biehl, M. C., & Ge, X. (2009). Trajectories of depressed mood from early adolescence to young adulthood: The effects of pubertal timing and adolescent dating. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 19, 47–74. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00581.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 424–443.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2008). Low self-esteem prospectively predicts depression in adolescence and young adulthood. Personality Processes and Individual Differences, 95, 695–708. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.3.695.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, J. (2003). Adolescent self-concept and health into adulthood. Health Reports (Statistics Canada, Catalogue 82-003), 14, 41–52.

  • Poulin, C., Hand, D., & Boudreau, B. (2005). Validity of a 12-item version of the CES-D used in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Chronic Diseases in Canada, 26, 65–72.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawana, J. S. (2013). The relative importance of body change strategies, weight perception, perceived social support, and self-esteem on adolescent depressive symptoms: Longitudinal findings from a national sample. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 75, 49–54. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.04.012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rawana, J. S., & Morgan, A. S. (2011, special issue). The relation between eating- and weight-related disturbances and depressive symptoms among early and late adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Nutritional Disorders & Therapy, S2, 001. doi:10.4172/jndt.S2-001.

  • Rawana, J. S., Morgan, A. S., Nguyen, H., & Craig, S. G. (2010). The relation between eating- and weight-related disturbances and depression in adolescence: A review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13, 213–230. doi:10.1177/014662167700100306.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, R. E., Andrews, J. A., Lewinsohn, P. M., & Hops, H. (1990). Assessment of depression in adolescents using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2, 122–128. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.2.2.122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, M., Richards, C. S., & Bleckley, M. K. (2007). Comorbidity between depression and disordered eating in adolescents. Eating Behaviors, 8, 440–449. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.03.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sawyer, M. G., Harchak, T., Wake, M., & Lynch, J. (2011). Four-year prospective study of BMI and mental health problems in young children. Pediatrics, 128, 677–684. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-3132.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shochet, I., Wurfl, A., & Hoge, R. (2004). The resourceful adolescent programs: Working with teenagers in Queensland, Australia. In S. Saxena & P. J. Garrison (Eds.), Mental health promotion: Case studies from countries (pp. 10–12). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, J. D. (1998). Using SAS PROC MIXED to fit multilevel models, hierarchical models, and individual growth models. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 23, 323–355. doi:10.3102/10769986023004323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Skorikov, V. B., & Vandervoort, D. J. (2003). Relationships between the underlying constructs of the beck depression inventory and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63, 319–335. doi:10.1177/0013164402251035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. (1998). National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), cycle 2—Microdata user guide. Ottawa, ON: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. (2007a). National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Survey overview for the 2006/2007 data collection, cycle 7. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. (2007b). National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), cycle 7—Microdata user guide. Ottawa, ON: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., & Bearman, S. K. (2001). Body-image and eating disturbances prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms in adolescent girls: A growth curve analysis. Developmental Psychology, 37, 597–607. doi:10.1037//0012-1649.37.5.597.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Hayward, C., Cameron, R. P., Killen, J. D., & Taylor, C. B. (2000). Body-image and eating disturbances predict onset of depression among female adolescents: A longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 438–444. doi:10.1037//0021-843X.IOO.3.438.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stoolmiller, M., Kim, H. K., & Capaldi, D. M. (2005). The course of depressive symptoms in men from early adolescence to young adulthood: Identifying latent trajectories and early predictors. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 331–345. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.114.3.331.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanner, J. L., Reinherz, H. Z., Beardslee, W. R., Fitzmaurice, G. M., Leis, J. A., & Berger, S. R. (2007). Change in prevalence of psychiatric disorders from ages 21 to 30 in a community sample. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195, 298–306. doi:10.1097/01.nmd.0000261952.13887.6e.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF Office of Research. (2013). Child well-being in rich countries: A comparative overview. Innocenti Report Card 11. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research.

  • Vaughan, C. A., & Halpern, C. T. (2010). Gender differences in depressive symptoms during adolescence: The contributions of weight-related concerns and behaviors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 389–419. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00646.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiles, N. J., Haase, A. M., Lawlor, D. A., Ness, A., & Lewis, G. (2012). Physical activity and depression in adolescents: Cross-sectional findings from the ALSPAC cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 1023–1033. doi:10.1007/s00127-011-0422-4.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willett, J. B., Singer, J. D., & Martin, N. C. (1998). The design and analysis of longitudinal studies of development and psychopathology in context: Statistical models and methodological recommendations. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 395–426.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zarate, C. A, Jr. (2010). Psychiatric disorders in young adults: Depression assessment and treatment. In J. E. Grant & M. N. Potenza (Eds.), Young adult mental health (pp. 206–230). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ontario Mental Health Foundation for supporting this research through a Research Studentship awarded to the second author. Special thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Research Data Centre program for providing access to the NLSCY data set.

Author contributions

The primary author developed the study and presided over the study design and manuscript preparation process. The second author performed the statistical analyses. Both authors interpreted the statistical results and contributed to writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele St., BSB 131, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Jennine S. Rawana & Ashley S. Morgan

Authors
  1. Jennine S. Rawana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ashley S. Morgan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennine S. Rawana.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rawana, J.S., Morgan, A.S. Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Self-esteem and Body-Related Predictors. J Youth Adolescence 43, 597–611 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9995-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9995-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation