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Related Experiment Videos

Life events and early onset depression: cause or consequence?

G C Patton1, C Coffey, M Posterino

  • 1Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Psychological Medicine
|October 29, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Adverse life events can trigger depression in adolescents, but prior depressive symptoms also predict future negative events. This suggests a reciprocal relationship influencing early depression onset.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Epidemiology
  • Adolescent Health

Background:

  • Adverse life events are hypothesized to cause depression.
  • Previous research has not fully accounted for confounding effects of prior depression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the causal role of life events in adolescent depression.
  • To examine the reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and life events.

Main Methods:

  • A two-phase study nested within a six-wave adolescent cohort (N=1947).
  • ICD-10 diagnoses of depressive disorder generated via CIS-R and CIDI interviews.
  • Life events appraised as negative or neutral/positive; prior depressive and anxiety symptoms assessed.

Main Results:

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  • Pre-existing depressive/anxiety symptoms predicted later life events (3x risk in females, 7x in males for negative events).
  • Life events independently predicted depressive disorder onset (5x risk for single negative events, 8x for multiple).
  • Personal threat/loss linked to depression in females, not males.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support a causal role for life events in early depression episodes.
  • A reciprocal relationship exists where early symptoms predict later events.
  • This may reflect individuals altering social circumstances due to symptoms.