title: A two-year longitudinal study of gender differences in responses to positive affect and depressive symptoms during middle adolescence.
abstract: This study aimed to analyze the prospective associations during adolescence between depressive symptoms and response styles to positive affect and to examine gender differences. A longitudinal study was conducted with three waves separated by 1 year each to assess a non-clinical sample of 622 Spanish adolescents who were 13 and 14 years old (50.2% boys, 49.8% girls). The participants completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms and responses to positive affect (emotion-focused positive rumination, self-focused positive rumination and dampening of positive emotion). The results showed that the increase in depressive symptoms was associated with an increase in dampening and decreases in emotion-focused and self-focused positive rumination. Furthermore, girls presented more depressive symptoms, as well as higher dampening and lower self-focused positive rumination, than boys. The conclusions highlight the need to consider responses to positive affect in explaining gender differences in depressive symptoms during mid-adolescence, as well as in designing prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Campus Sevilla, C/ Energía Solar, 1. Building G, 41014, Sevilla, Spain. Electronic address: dgomez@uloyola.es.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gomez-Baya
authors.affiliation: Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology Department, Universidad de Huelva, Av. Fuerzas Armadas, 21007, Huelva, Spain.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Psychology Department, Universidad de Huelva, Av. Fuerzas Armadas, 21007, Huelva, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paino
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave, Swarthmore, PA, 19081-1397, USA.
authors.forename: Jane E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gillham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Adolescence; Dampening; Depressive symptoms; Gender; Positive affect; Response styles