The Interpersonal Context of Adolescent Depression

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Adolescence is a stage of life marked by striking transformations in youths’ social worlds. As youth progress through adolescence, they must negotiate the shift from a primary reliance on the family as a context for socialization and support to a more delicate balance between autonomy versus connectedness within the family (Allen, Hauser, Bell, and O’Connor, 1994). Moreover, youth must traverse the increasingly intricate and emotionally demanding landscape of peer and romantic relationships (Furman and Wehner, 1997; Laursen, 1996). Successfully meeting their basic need for relatedness during this pivotal period thus requires that youth possess strong personal and interpersonal resources. These complex social tasks of adolescence provide a developmental context of risk for the emergence of depression, particularly in youth with pre-existing personal characteristics or environmental experiences that compromise their ability to navigate the interpersonal challenges of adolescence. This chapter explores the interpersonal context of adolescent depression, with a focus on characteristics of youth and their environments that amplify or attenuate risk in the face of the social reorganization characterizing the transition through adolescence.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationHandbook of Depression in Adolescents
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages377-418
Number of pages42
ISBN (Electronic)9781136675867
ISBN (Print)9780203809518
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Interpersonal Context of Adolescent Depression'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this