TY - JOUR
T1 - Life stress and the accuracy of cognitive appraisals in depressed youth
AU - Krackow, Elisa
AU - Rudolph, Karen D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by National Institute for Mental Health Grant MH59711, a William T. Grant Foundation Faculty Scholars Award, and a University of Illinois Beckman Research Award to Karen D. Rudolph. We thank Melissa Caldwell, Alyssa Clark, Colleen Conley, Alison Dupre, Julie Eisengart, Megan Flynn, Alison Groot, and Kathryn Kurlakowsky for their contributions to the data collection process. We are grateful to Eva Pomerantz for her thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this article and to Holly Orcutt for statistical consultation. Finally, we are grateful to the dedicated families who participated in this research.
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - This study investigated the accuracy of depressed youths' appraisals of naturally occurring life events. Participants (49% girls; M age = 12.44 years) with clinical diagnoses of depression (n = 24), subsyndromal symptoms of depression (n = 29), and no symptoms of psychopathology (n = 36) completed semi-structured interviews of life stress. As predicted, depressed youth experienced more independent and self-generated interpersonal stress than did nonsymptomatic youth. Consistent with a cognitive bias, clinically depressed youth overestimated the stressfulness of events and overestimated their contribution to events relative to nonsymptomatic youth. Youth with subsyndromal symptoms demonstrated similar, although typically less severe, impairment than those with clinical depression. Results contribute to cognitive-interpersonal models of depression by illustrating the need to consider both realistic interpersonal difficulties and biased appraisals of experiences.
AB - This study investigated the accuracy of depressed youths' appraisals of naturally occurring life events. Participants (49% girls; M age = 12.44 years) with clinical diagnoses of depression (n = 24), subsyndromal symptoms of depression (n = 29), and no symptoms of psychopathology (n = 36) completed semi-structured interviews of life stress. As predicted, depressed youth experienced more independent and self-generated interpersonal stress than did nonsymptomatic youth. Consistent with a cognitive bias, clinically depressed youth overestimated the stressfulness of events and overestimated their contribution to events relative to nonsymptomatic youth. Youth with subsyndromal symptoms demonstrated similar, although typically less severe, impairment than those with clinical depression. Results contribute to cognitive-interpersonal models of depression by illustrating the need to consider both realistic interpersonal difficulties and biased appraisals of experiences.
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U2 - 10.1080/15374410801955797
DO - 10.1080/15374410801955797
M3 - Article
C2 - 18470774
AN - SCOPUS:45849137094
SN - 1537-4416
VL - 37
SP - 376
EP - 385
JO - Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
JF - Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
IS - 2
ER -