Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T20:39:33.244Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Continuities in depression from adolescence to young adulthood: Contrasting ecological influences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2004

LESLIE MORRISON GUTMAN
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
ARNOLD J. SAMEROFF
Affiliation:
University of Michigan

Abstract

The prevalence, recurrence, and incidence of depression in adolescence and young adulthood are substantial for both males and females. In this study, we examined social setting variables that influence depression in males and females from adolescence to young adulthood. Rather than focusing on single ecological factors, we examined multiple settings including families, peers, and neighborhoods using longitudinal data from 372 families living in a large eastern urban area. We found that variables related to depression differed for males and females depending on the developmental period being examined. Family and peer variables in adolescence were significantly related to change in depression during the transition to adulthood for males, whereas family and neighborhood variables were marginally significant for females. Family and neighborhood variables in adulthood were significantly related to change in depression for females, and peer variables were significant for both males and females. Overall, contextual variables in adolescence had a more significant impact on change in depression for males, whereas contemporary variables in young adulthood had a more significant impact on change in depression for females.The authors acknowledge the assistance of Frank Furstenberg for the collection of this data with funds from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Network on Successful Adolescence in High Risk Environments. The authors also acknowledge partial support for the writing of this article from a National Institute of Mental Health Behavioral Science Research Center Grant awarded to the second author.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alfeld–Liro, C., & Sigelman, C. K. (1998). Sex differences in self-concept and symptoms of depression during the transition to college. Journal of Youth & Adolescence 27, 219244.Google Scholar
Aneshensel, C. S., & Sucoff, C. A. (1996). The neighborhood context of adolescent mental health. Journal of Health & Social Behavior 37, 293310.Google Scholar
Angold, A., & Rutter, M. (1992). Effects of age and pubertal status on depression in a large clinical sample. Developmental Psychopathology 4, 528.Google Scholar
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from late teen through the twenties. American Psychologist 55, 469480.Google Scholar
Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (1997). Socialization in context: Connection, regulation, and autonomy in the family, school, and neighborhood, and with peers. Journal of Adolescent Research 12, 287315.Google Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and by design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1995). Developmental psychopathology and disorders of affect. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 2. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 369420). New York: Wiley.
Cook, T. D., Herman, M. R., Phillips, M., & Settersten, R. A. (2002). Some ways in which neighborhoods, nuclear families, friendship groups, and schools jointly affect changes in early adolescent development. Child Development 73, 12831309.Google Scholar
Crosnoe, R., Mistry, R. S., & Elder, G. H. (2002). Economic disadvantage, family dynamics, and adolescent enrollment in higher education. Journal of Marriage and Family 64, 690702.Google Scholar
Daley, S. E., Hammen, C., & Rao, U. (2000). Predictors of first onset and recurrence of major depression in young women during the 5 years following high school graduation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 109, 525533.Google Scholar
Elder, G. H., & Conger, R. D. (2000). Children of the land: Adversity and success in rural America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Elliott, D. S., Huizinga, D., & Menard, S. (1989). Multiple problem youth: Delinquency, substance use, and mental health problems. In Research in criminology. New York: Springer Verlag.
Elze, D. E., Stiffman, A. R., & Dore, P. (1999). The association between types of violence exposure and youths' mental health problems. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine & Health 11, 221255.Google Scholar
Furstenberg, F., Cook, T., Eccles, J., Elder, G., & Sameroff, A. (1999). Managing to make it: Urban families and adolescent success. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Giaconia, R. M., Reinherz, H. Z., Silverman, A. B., Pakiz, B., Frost, A. K., & Cohen, E. (1994). Ages of onset of psychiatric disorders in a community population of older adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 33, 706717.Google Scholar
Gutman, L. M., McLoyd, V. C., & Toyokawa, T. (in press). Financial strain, neighborhood stress, parenting behaviors, and adolescent adjustment in urban African-American families. Journal of Research on Adolescence.
Gutman, L. M., Sameroff, A. S., & Eccles, J. S. (2002). The academic achievement of African-American students during early adolescence: An examination of multiple risk, promotive, and protective factors. American Journal of Community Psychology 39, 367399.Google Scholar
Hadley–Ives, E., Stiffman, A. R., Elze, D., Johnson, S. D., & Dore, P. (2000). Measuring neighborhood and school environments: Perceptual and aggregate approaches. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment 3, 128.Google Scholar
Hammen, C., Henry, R., & Daley, S. H. (2000). Depression and sensitization to stressors among young women as a function of childhood adversity. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 68, 782787.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. E. (1998). Development of depression from pre-adolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 107, 128140.Google Scholar
Harrington, R. C., Fudge, H., Rutter, M. L., Pickles, A., & Hill, J. (1990). Adult outcomes of childhood and adolescent depression. Archival General Psychiatry 47, 465473.Google Scholar
Hartup, W. W. (1996). The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance. Child Development 67, 113.Google Scholar
Hirsch, B. J., & DuBois, D. L. (1992). The relation of peer social support and psychological symptomatology during the transition of junior high school: A two-year longitudinal analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology 20, 333347.Google Scholar
Jessor, R. (1993). Successful adolescent development among youth in high-risk settings. American Psychologist 48, 117126.Google Scholar
Jessor, R., & Jessor, S.L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychological development: A longitudinal study of youth. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Keefe, K., & Berndt, T. J. (1996). Relations of friendship quality to self-esteem in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence 16, 110129.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C., Avenevoli, S., & Merikangas, K. R. (2001). Mood disorders in children and adolescents: An epidemiologic perspective. Biological Psychiatry 49, 10021014.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C., & Walters, E. E. (1998). Epidemiology of DSM-III-R major depression and minor depression among adolescents and young adults in the National Comorbidity Survey. Depression and Anxiety 7, 314.Google Scholar
Kmec, J. A., & Furstenberg, F. (2002). Racial and gender differences in the transition to adulthood: A longitudinal study of Philadelphia youth. In R. A. Settersten & T. J. Owens (Eds.), Advances in life course research: Vol. 7. New frontiers in socialization (pp. 435470). New York: JAI Press.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Hops, H., Roberts, R. E., Seeley, J. R., & Andrews, J. A. (1993). Adolescent psychopathology: I. Prevalence and incidence of depression and other DSM-III-R disorders in high school students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 102, 133144.Google Scholar
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Klein, D. N., & Seeley, J. R. (1999). Natural course of adolescent major depressive disorder, I: Continuity into young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 38, 5663.Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S. (2003). Adaptation among youth facing multiple risks: Prospective research finding. New York: Cambridge University Press.
McFarlane, A. H., Bellissimo, A., & Norman, G. R. (1995). The role of family and peers in social self-efficacy: Links to depression in adolescence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 65, 402410.Google Scholar
Monroe, S. M., & Hadjiyannakis, K. (2002). The social environment and depression: Focusing on severe life stress. In I. H. Gotlib & C. L. Hammen (Eds.), Handbook of depression. New York: Guilford Press.
Rao, U., Daley, S. H., & Hammen, C. (2000). Relationship between depression and substance use disorders in adolescent women during the transition to adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 39, 215222.Google Scholar
Rao, U., Hammen, C., & Daley, S. H. (1999). Continuity of depression during the transition to adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 38, 908915.Google Scholar
Rao, U., Ryan, N. D., Birmaher, D., Dahl, R. E., Williamson, D. E., Kaufman, J., Rao, R., & Nelson, B. (1995). Unipolar depression in adolescents: Clinical outcome in adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34, 566577.Google Scholar
Reinherz, H. Z., Giaconia, R. M., Hauf, A. M. C., Wasserman, M. S., & Silverman, A. B. (1999). Major depression in the transition to young adulthood risk and impairments. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 108, 500510.Google Scholar
Reinherz, H. Z., Giaconia, R. M., Pakiz, B., Silverman, A. B., Frost, A. K., & Lefkowitz, E. S. (1993). Psychosocial risks for major depression in late adolescence: A longitudinal community study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 32, 11551163.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A., Gutman, L. M., & Peck, S. C. (2003). Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood. In S. S. Luthar (Ed.), Adaptation among youth facing multiple risks: Prospective research findings (pp. 364391). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sampson, R. J. (1992). Family management and child development: Insights from social disorganization theory. In J. McCord (Ed.), Facts, frameworks, and forecasts. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishing.
Sampson, R. J., & Groves, W. B. (1989). Community structure and crime: Testing social-disorganization theory. American Journal of Sociology 94, 774802.Google Scholar
Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science 277, 918924.Google Scholar
Schulenberg, J., Maggs, J. L., Dielman, T. E., Leech, S. L., Kloska, D. D., Shope, J. T., & Laetz, V. B. (1999). On peer influences to get drunk: A panel study of young adolescents. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly 45, 108142.Google Scholar
Seidman, E., Chesir–Teran, D., Friedman, J. L., Yoshikawa, H., Allen, L., & Roberts, A. (1999). The risk and protective functions of perceived family and peer microsystems among urban adolescents in poverty. American Journal of Community Psychology 27, 211237.Google Scholar
Slavin, L. A., & Rainer, K. L. (1990). Gender differences in emotional support and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology 18, 407421.Google Scholar
Stevenson, H. C. (1998). Raising safe villages: Cultural–ecological factors that influence the emotional adjustment of adolescents. Journal of Black Psychology 24, 4459.Google Scholar
Tausig, J. E., & Freeman, E. W. (1988). The next best thing to being there: Conducting the Clinical Research Interview by telephone. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 58, 418427.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., & Klerman, G. L. (1985). Gender and depression. Trends in Neuroscience 8, 416420.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., Wolk, S., Goldstein, R., Moreau, D., Adams, P., Greenwald, S., Klier, C., Ryan, N. D., Dahl, R. E., & Wickramaratne, P. (1999). Depressed adolescents grown up. Journal of the American Medical Association 281, 17071713.Google Scholar
Windle, M. (1992). A longitudinal study of stress buffering for adolescent problem behaviors. Developmental Psychology 28, 522530.Google Scholar