An exploratory analysis of the joint contribution of HPA axis activation and motivation to early adolescent depressive symptoms

This study examines the interactive contribution of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis and approach‐avoidance motivation systems to longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms across the adolescent transition. In the summer prior to, or fall of, 4th grade, 132 youth (68 girls; 64 boys; M age = 9.46 years) participated in a social challenge task and reported on their depressive symptoms. In the winter of 6th grade, youth completed a semi‐structured interview of depression and a self‐report measure of approach‐avoidance motivations. Analyses revealed two profiles of risk for adolescent depressive symptoms, with some gender differences: (1) excessive disengagement, reflected in HPA underactivation along with low approach motivation or high avoidance motivation; and (2) excessive engagement, reflected in HPA overactivation along with high approach motivation. This research highlights the importance of a multi‐system perspective on development, suggesting that the implications of HPA dysregulation for depressive symptoms are contingent on adolescents’ tendencies toward approach versus avoidance.

Source: Developmental Psychobiology - January 1, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Karen D. Rudolph, Wendy Troop ‐Gordon, Haina H. Modi, Douglas A. Granger Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research