Abstract
Exposure to peer stress contributes to adolescent depression, yet not all youth experience these effects. Thus, it is important to identify individual differences that shape the consequences of peer stress. This research investigated the interactive contribution of cumulative peer stress during childhood (second-fifth grades) and executive function (EF) deficits to depression during early adolescence (sixth grade). Youth (267 girls, 227 boys; age at Wave 1 = 7.95, SD = .37) completed questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to assess peer stress and depression, respectively; teachers completed the Behavior Rating Scale of Executive Function to assess everyday performance in several EF domains. As anticipated, exposure to peer stress in childhood predicted heightened sixth-grade depression in girls but not boys with higher levels of EF deficits. This study extends theory and research on individual differences in vulnerability to adolescent depression, in turn elucidating potential intervention targets.
|
Agoston, A. M., Rudolph, K. D. (2011). Transactional associations between youth’s responses to peer stress and depression: The moderating roles of sex and stress exposure. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 159-171. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., Holmes, J., Place, M., Elliott, J. G., Hilton, K. (2009). The diagnostic utility of behavioral checklists in identifying children with ADHD and children with working memory deficits. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40, 353-366. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
American Psychiatric Association . (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Anderson, V. A., Anderson, P., Northam, E., Jacobs, R., Mikiewicz, O. (2002). Relationships between cognitive and behavioral measures of executive function in children with brain disease. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 231-240. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Angold, A., Costello, E. J., Messer, S. C., Pickles, A. (1995). Development of a short questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 5, 237-249. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Aseltine, R. H., Gore, S., Colten, M. E. (1994). Depression and the social developmental context of adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 252-263. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Barkley, R. A. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 65-94. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Best, J. R., Miller, P. H., Jones, L. L. (2009). Executive functions after age 5: Changes and correlates. Developmental Review, 29, 180-200. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bierman, K. L., Nix, R. L., Greenberg, M. T., Blair, C., Domitrovich, C. E. (2008). Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 821-843. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bradley, R. H., Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Reviews of Psychology, 53, 371-399. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Brody, G. H., Ge, X. (2001). Linking parenting processes and self-regulation to psychological functioning and alcohol use during early adolescence. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 82-94. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Christ, S. E., Kanne, S. M., Reiersen, A. M. (2010). Executive function in individuals with subthreshold autism traits. Neuropsychology, 24, 590-598. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cyranowski, J. M., Frank, E., Young, E., Shear, K. (2000). Adolescent onset of the gender difference in lifetime rates of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 21-27. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Dawson, J. F., Richter, A. W. (2006). Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression: Development and application of a slope difference test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 917-926. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Denckla, M. B. (2002). The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function: Commentary. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 304-306. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Flynn, M., Rudolph, K. D. (2011). Stress generation and adolescent depression: Contribution of responses to interpersonal stress. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 1187-1198. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Friedman, N. P., Miyake, A., Young, S. E., DeFries, J. C., Corley, R. P., Hewitt, J. K. (2008). Individual differences in executive functions are almost entirely genetic in origin. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 137, 201-225. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K. (2004). Ecological assessment of executive function in traumatic brain injury. Developmental Neuropsychology, 25, 135-158. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., Kenworthy, L. (2000a). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Child Neuropsychology, 6, 235-238. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., Kenworthy, L. (2000b). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Google Scholar | |
|
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Retzlaff, P. D., Espy, K. A. (2002). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) in a clinical sample. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 249-257. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Goodman, S. H., Gravitt, G. W., Kaslow, N. J. (1995). Social problem solving: A moderator of the relation between negative life stress and depressive symptoms in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23, 473-485. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hammen, C., Shih, J., Altman, T., Brennan, P. A. (2003). Interpersonal impairment and the prediction of depressive symptoms in adolescent children of depressed and nondepressed mothers. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 571-577. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hankin, B. L., Fraley, R. C., Lahey, B. B., Waldman, I. D. (2005). Is depression best viewed as a continuum or discrete category? A taxometric analysis of childhood and adolescent depression in a population-based sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 96-110. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hankin, B. L., Mermelstein, R., Roesch, L. (2007). Sex differences in adolescent depression: Stress exposure and reactivity models. Child Development, 78, 279-295. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hilt, L. M., McLaughlin, K. A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2010). Examination of the response styles theory in a community sample of young adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 545-556. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Johnson, J. H., McCutcheon, S. M. (1980). Assessing life stress in older children and adolescents: Preliminary findings with the Life Events Checklist. In Sarason, I. G., Spielberger, C. D. (Eds.), Stress and anxiety (pp. 111-125). Washington, DC: Hemisphere. Google Scholar | |
|
Joormann, J., Gotlib, I. H. (2008). Updating the contents of working memory in depression: Interference from irrelevant negative material. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 182-192. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Joormann, J., Levens, S. M., Gotlib, I. H. (2011). Sticky thoughts: Depression and rumination are associated with difficulties manipulating emotional material in working memory. Psychological Science, 22, 979-983. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Joyner, K. B., Silver, C. H., Stavinoha, P. L. (2009). Relationship between parenting stress and ratings of executive functioning in children with ADHD. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 27, 452-464. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Keiley, M. K., Lofthouse, N., Bates, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Petit, G. S. (2003). Differential risks of covarying and pure components in mother and teacher reports of externalizing and internalizing behavior across ages 5 to 14. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 267-283. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Klein, D. N., Ouimette, P. C., Kelly, H. S., Ferro, T., Riso, L. P. (1994). Test-retest reliability of team consensus best-estimate diagnoses of Axis I and II disorders in a family study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1043-1047. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lau, J. Y., Eley, T. C. (2008). Attributional style as a risk marker of genetic effects for adolescent depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 849-859. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lengua, L. J. (2002). The contribution of emotionality and self-regulation to the understanding of children’s response to multiple risk. Child Development, 73, 144-161. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lengua, L. J. (2003). Associations among emotionality, self-regulation, adjustment problems, and positive adjustment in middle childhood. Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 595-618. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Lengua, L. J. (2006). Growth in temperament and parenting as predictors of adjustment during children’s transition to adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 42, 819-832. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lengua, L. J., Long, A. C. (2002). The role of emotionality and self-regulation in the appraisal-coping process: Tests of direct and moderating effects. Applied Developmental Psychology, 23, 471-493. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Mahone, E. M., Cirino, P. T., Cutting, L. E., Cerrone, P. M., Hagelthorn, K. M., Hiemenz, J. R., … Denckla, M. B., (2002). Validity of the behavior rating inventory of executive function in children with ADHD and/or Tourette syndrome. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 17, 643-662. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49-100. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Muris, P., Meesters, C., Rompelberg, L. (2006). Attention control in middle childhood: Relations to psychopathological symptoms and threat perception distortions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 997-1010. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Nezu, A. M., Ronan, G. F. (1988). Social problem solving as a moderator of stress-related depressive symptoms: A prospective analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35, 134-138. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Nigg, J. T. (2000). On inhibition/disinhibition in developmental psychopathology: Views from cognitive and personality psychology and a working inhibition taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 220-246. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 424-443. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Stice, E., Wade, E., Bohon, C. (2007). Reciprocal relations between rumination and bulimic, substance abuse, and depressive symptoms in adolescent females. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 198-207. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Normandeau, S, Guay, F. (1998). Preschool behavior and first-grade school achievement: The meditational role of cognitive self-control. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 111-121. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Orvaschel, H. (1995). Schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-age children: Epidemiologic version 5. Fort Lauderdale, FL: Nova Southeastern University. Google Scholar | |
|
Parker, J. G., Rubin, K. H., Erath, S. A., Wojslawowicz, J. C., Buskirk, A. A. (2006). Peer relationships, child development, and adjustment: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In Cicchetti, D., Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology, Vol. 1: Theory and method (2nd ed., pp. 419-493). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Prinstein, M. J., Borelli, J. L., Cheah, C. S., Simon, V. A., Aikins, J. W. (2005). Adolescent girls’ interpersonal vulnerability to depressive symptoms: A longitudinal examination of reassurance-seeking and peer relationships. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 676-688. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Raver, C. C., Blackburn, E. K., Bancroft, M., Torp, N. (1999). Relations between effective emotional self-regulation, attentional control, and low-income preschoolers’ social competence with peers. Early Education & Development, 10, 333-350. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Reddy, L. A., Hale, J. B., Brodzinsky, L. K. (2011). Discriminant validity of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Parent Form for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. School Psychology Quarterly, 26, 45-55. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Robinson, N. S., Garber, J., Hilsman, R. (1995). Cognitions and stress: Direct and moderating effects on depressive versus externalizing symptoms during the junior high school transition. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 453-463. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Roelofs, J., Rood, L., Meesters, C., Dorsthorst, V., Bogels, S., Alloy, L. B., Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2009). The influence of rumination and distraction on depressed and anxious mood: A prospective examination of the response styles theory in children and adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18, 635-642. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rose, A. J. (2002). Co-rumination in the friendships of girls and boys. Child Development, 73, 1830-1843. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rose, A. J., Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 98-131. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., Hershey, K. L., Fisher, P. (2001). Investigations of temperament at three to seven years: The Children’s Behavior Questionnaire. Child Development, 72, 1394-1408. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rudolph, K. D. (2002). Gender differences in emotional responses to interpersonal stress during adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30, 3-13. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rudolph, K. D. (2009). The interpersonal context of adolescent depression. In Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Hilt, L. M. (Eds.), Handbook of depression in adolescents (pp. 377-418). New York, NY: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Rudolph, K. D., Flynn, M. (2014). Depression in adolescents. In Gotlib, I. H., Hammen, C. L. (Eds.), Handbook of depression (3rd ed., pp. 931-409). New York, NY: Guilford. Google Scholar | |
|
Rudolph, K. D., Flynn, M., Abaied, J. L., Groot, A., Thompson, R. (2009). Why is past depression the best predictor of future depression? Stress generation as a mechanism of depression continuity in girls. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38, 473-485. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rudolph, K. D., Hammen, C. (1999). Age and gender as determinants of stress exposure, generation, and reactions in youngsters: A transactional perspective. Child Development, 70, 660-677. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rudolph, K. D., Hammen, C., Daley, S. E. (2006). Mood disorders. In Wolfe, D. A., Mash, E. J. (Eds.), Behavioral and emotional disorders in adolescents: Nature, assessment, and treatment (pp. 300-342). New York, NY: Guilford. Google Scholar | |
|
Rudolph, K. D., Lambert, S. F., Clark, A. G., Kurlakowsky, K. D. (2001). Negotiating the transition to middle school: The role of self-regulatory processes. Child Development, 72, 929-946. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rudolph, K. D., Troop-Gordon, W., Llewellyn, N. (2013). Interactive contributions of self-regulation deficits and social motivation to psychopathology: Unraveling divergent pathways to aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 407-418. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Semrud-Clikeman, M., Walkowiak, J., Wilkinson, A., Butcher, B. (2010). Executive functioning in children with Asperger syndrome, ADHD-combined type, ADHD-predominantly inattentive type, and controls. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 1017-1027. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Sheehan, D. V., Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, K. H., Amorim, P., Janavs, J., Weiller, E., . . . Dunbar, G. C. (1998). The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 5, 22-33. Google Scholar | |
|
Sheehan, D. V., Sheehan, K. H., Shytle, R. D., Janavs, J., Bannon, Y., Rogers, J. E., . . . Wilkinson, B. (2010). Reliability and validity of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children and adolescents (MINI-KID). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 71, 313-326. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Simonds, J., Kieras, J. E., Rueda, M. R., Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Effortful control, executive attention, and emotional regulation in 7-10-year-old children. Cognitive Development, 22, 474-488. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Slick, D. J., Lautzenhiser, A., Sherman, E. M. S., Eyrl, K. (2006). Frequency of scale elevations and factor structure of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) in children and adolescents with intractable epilepsy. Child Neuropsychology, 12, 181-189. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Sontag, L. M., Graber, J. A., Brooks-Gunn, J., Warren, M. P. (2008). Coping with social stress: Implications for psychopathology in young adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 1159-1174. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Sugimura, N., Rudolph, K. (2012). Temperamental differences in children’s reactions to peer victimization. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 41, 314-328. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Sund, A. M., Larsson, B., Wichstrom, L. (2003). Psychosocial correlates of depressive symptoms among 12-14-year-old Norwegian adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 588-597. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Thapar, A., McGuffin, P. (1998). Validity of the shortened Mood and Feelings Questionnaire in a community sample of children and adolescents: A preliminary research note. Psychiatry Research, 81, 259-268. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Tiet, Q. Q., Wasserman, G. A., Loeber, R., McReynolds, L. S., Miller, L. S. (2001). Developmental and sex differences in types of conduct problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 10, 181-197. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Toplak, M. E., Bucciarelli, S. M., Jain, U., Tannock, R. (2009). Executive functions: Performance-based measures and the behavior rating inventory of executive function (BRIEF) in adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Child Neuropsychology, 15, 53-72. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Toplak, M. E., West, R. F., Stanovich, K. E. (2013). Practitioner Review: Do performance-based measures and ratings of executive function assess the same construct? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 131-143. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Troop-Gordon, W., Rudolph, K. D., Sugimura, N., Little, T. D. (2015). Peer victimization in middle childhood impedes adaptive responses to stress: A pathway to depressive symptoms. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 44, 432-445. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Wilson, B. J. (2006). The entry behavior of aggressive/rejected children: The contributions of status and temperament. Social Development, 15, 463-479. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |

