Does Expressive Suppression Precede Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• The relationship between expressive suppression and depressive symptoms in adolescents is debated.
• Previous research often conflated between- and within-person processes, leaving a gap in understanding the temporal dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the within-person temporal precedence of expressive suppression and depressive symptoms in adolescents.
• To clarify whether expressive suppression or depressive symptoms initiate changes in the other.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study with typically developing adolescents (N=187, ages 13-15).
• Data collected every six months for three years.
• Random-Intercepts Cross-Lagged Panel Modeling (RI-CLPM) used to analyze within-person effects.

Main Results:

• Depressive symptoms significantly predicted subsequent increases in expressive suppression more often than the reverse.
• This relationship was consistent for boys and less consistent for girls.
• Findings challenge the notion that expressive suppression is a vulnerability for depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Depressive symptoms appear to elicit greater use of expressive suppression in adolescents.
• Results suggest that interventions targeting expressive suppression to treat depression may not be effective.
• Understanding within-person processes is crucial for accurate etiological models and effective interventions.