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Parental depression and child cognitive vulnerability predict children's cortisol reactivity
Elizabeth P Hayden1, Benjamin L Hankin2, Sarah V M Mackrell1
1Western University.
Development and Psychopathology
|November 26, 2014
Summary
Parental depression history and child cognitive vulnerability interact to predict children's stress response. This finding highlights the importance of considering multiple risk factors for early depression risk.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- Depression risk involves multiple factors, including parental depression and cognitive vulnerability.
- The interaction between these factors and children's physiological stress response (cortisol reactivity) remains understudied.
- Cortisol reactivity is a potential mediator for early depression risk in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interactive effects of parental depression history and child cognitive vulnerability on children's cortisol reactivity.
- To examine these relationships using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data in community samples.
- To understand how multiple levels of vulnerability contribute to depression risk.
Main Methods:
- Two community samples of children (n=244 and n=205) were assessed.
- Child cognitive vulnerability was measured via self-reports and tasks assessing memory and attentional bias.
- Parental depression history was assessed using structured clinical interviews.
- Children underwent standardized stress tasks to measure cortisol reactivity.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction was found between parental depression history and child cognitive vulnerability in predicting children's cortisol reactivity.
- Elevated child cortisol reactivity was associated with parental depression history specifically when children exhibited cognitive vulnerabilities (depressotypic attributions, attentional/memory biases).
- These interactive effects were observed cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
Conclusions:
- Models of childhood depression risk should incorporate the interactive effects of multiple vulnerability sources across different analytical levels.
- Understanding these interactions is crucial for identifying children at heightened risk for developing depression.
- This research underscores the complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and cognitive factors in pediatric mental health.
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