title: Disentangling the prospective relations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms.
abstract: In a four-wave, cohort-longitudinal design with a community sample of 515 children and adolescents (grades 2 through 9), this study examined the longitudinal structure of and prospective interrelations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms. Multigroup structural equation modeling generated four major findings. First, the longitudinal structures of maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms consist of a single time-invariant factor and a series of time-varying factors. Second, evidence supported a model in which depressive symptoms predicted negative cognitions but not the reverse. Third, the time-invariant components of cognition and depression were highly correlated. Fourth, the strength of the depression-to-cognition relation increased with age. Implications regarding the mechanisms underlying clinical interventions with depressed children are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203-5721, USA.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: LaGrange
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: Farrah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jacquez
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ciesla
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dallaire
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.forename: Alanna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Truss
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weitlauf
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tilghman-Osborne
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Felton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires