| dc.description.abstract | Background: Depression rapidly increases during adolescence, particularly for girls. One
theory to explain this gender difference is the accumulation theory which suggests that girls
face different, and in part more, risk factors that co-occur with adolescence compared to
boys. The accumulation was tested against the alternative theory which suggests that girls and
boys have similar risk factors, but girls value you them more negatively than boys. Methods:
The study was made up of four waves, with approximately nine months between each wave,
whereby predictors from various domains were investigated. The Children’s Depression
Inventory (CDI) was administered to a large school population (n = 406) at all waves. At
wave one participants were aged 11-15 years. Perceived rejection was measured using
schematic faces, while pubertal timing, school transition and negative life events were
examined with a self-report questionnaire. Negative life events included divorce, sickness of
self, sickness of a close family member and psychological complaints. Results: Perceived
rejection and psychological complaints significantly predicted adolescent depression.
Additionally, girls perceived more rejection and reported more psychological complaints
compared to boys. Psychological complaints were age specific. Multiple co-occurring risk
factors did not strengthen each other’s negative effects. As such, there is reason to believe
that part A of the accumulation theory explains gender difference in adolescent depression.
Conclusions: Overall, this study provided new insight into cumulative effects in the course
of early life depression. The gender difference in adolescent depression is partly explained by
the fact that girls tend to experience more co-occurring challenged during this period
compared to their male counterparts. | |
