title: Predictors of depression at eighteen. A 7-year follow-up study in a Spanish nonclinical population.
abstract: This study prospectively examined predicting factors and depressive antecedents of depression in early adulthood and determined differences by sex. 199 adolescents aged 11-12 from the general community were followed up annually for 4 years and reassessed at 18 years of age. Sociodemographic data, depressive symptomatology, anxiety level, personality dimensions, self-esteem, academic aptitude and pubertal development were reported throughout this period and tested as possible risk variables of depression. At 18, depression was diagnosed using ICD-10 criteria. Of the cases of major depression (MDD) at eighteen, 30% had been diagnosed as MDD between 12 and 14 years of age. Of the cases of MDD at eighteen, 80% had had depressive symptomatology between the ages of 11 and 14. Subclinical scores in the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) were early indicators of long-term risk. Gender differences were found in the risk pattern; depressive symptoms were more significant in girls than in boys. In boys, early anxious symptomatology was a significant predictor. This study reports cross-cultural data that support a continuity of depression from adolescence to young adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rovira i Virgili University, Cta Valls s/n, 43007 Tarragona, Spain. jcs@fcep.urv.es
authors.forename: Josepa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Canals
authors.forename: Edelmira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Domènech-Llaberia
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernández-Ballart
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martí-Henneberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires