Abstract The rise of digital media has raised questions about potential links to adolescent depression, especially among girls. This study investigated whether affective responses to daily peer interactions, and depressive symptoms, varied by context – digital media or in-person. A sample of 110 adolescents assigned female at birth, aged 12–17 ( M = 15.30, SD = 1.51; 83.6% White and 96.7% non-Hispanic) and enriched for risk for depression and suicidality, participated in 30 days of ecological momentary assessments over 3 months. Participants reported their most recent “worst” and “best” peer interactions, the context of these interactions (digital media or in-person), their affective responses to these interactions, and depressive symptoms. Multilevel models revealed that greater negative affect during negative interactions was associated with higher depressive symptoms, regardless of context ( B = 0.02, p < .001). In contrast, positive in-person interactions were associated with higher positive affect than digital interactions ( B = −2.01, p = .02), which, in turn, was associated with lower depressive symptoms ( B = 0.08, p = .01). Findings highlight the protective role of positive in-person experiences in adolescent emotional well-being, and challenge assumptions that negative digital experiences are the primary causes of depressive symptoms.
Abstract Research has consistently suggested an association between ADHD behavior and insecure attachment, yet longitudinal data in middle childhood are largely absent. In particular, the directionality of this association and the role of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) behavior remain unclear. This longitudinal study therefore examined these links across three annual waves in a Western-European community sample. Data were available for 614 children at Wave 1 (Mage = 10.28, SD = 0.58, range 9–12; 44% boys, 54% girls), 470 at Wave 2 (Mage = 10.28, SD = 0.61, range 10–13; 44% boys, 54% girls), and 385 at Wave 3 (Mage = 12.01, SD = 0.58, range 10–14; 45% boys, 54% girls). ADHD and ODD behavior were rated by mothers using the Child Behavior Checklist; children’s attachment was assessed through both explicit (questionnaires) and implicit (secure base script knowledge) measures. Random Intercept Cross‑Lagged Panel Models revealed stable small to moderate between‑child associations between ADHD behavior and attachment (in)security ( β = –0.550 to 0.367), which largely remained significant after controlling for ODD behavior ( β = –0.517 to 0.295). Cross‑lagged effects, reflecting prospective within-child processes, were mostly non‑significant, providing little evidence for bidirectional associations in middle childhood.
Abstract Internalizing disorders are the most common adolescent mental disorders. Using complementary variable-centered and person-centered approaches, we examined whether internalizing symptoms across eight years of adolescence (Grades 5–12) followed a continuous developmental trend or were disrupted by the transition to secondary school, and if different subgroups followed different pathways. Participants were 701 Canadian youth (52.9% girls; 75.9% white). Annual self-reported internalizing symptoms (ages 11–18) were examined using piecewise latent growth curve analysis (LGCM), revealing significant curve and level discontinuity at the transition, with distinct developmental phases in elementary and secondary school. Girls, youth with lower household income, and those with higher bullying victimization and lower social support showed elevated symptoms and/or steeper growth. An LGCM yielded four classes: Low (51.8%), Moderate (32.5%), Increasing (10.6%), and Declining (5.1%). The Declining and Moderate classes had comparable risk for early adulthood outcomes, demonstrating equifinality. Although beginning with similar levels, the Increasing class was at elevated risk compared to the Moderate class, demonstrating multifinality. Findings underscore that the secondary school transition can be viewed as a transition-linked turning point for a subset of adolescents, with implications for targeted screening and intervention beginning in elementary school.
Abstract Attention problems (AP) remain relatively stable across childhood and adolescence, but shift in adulthood, with declining hyperactivity but persisting impulsivity. This pattern suggests that adult AP reflect both continuity of earlier symptoms and changes in their underlying expression. We used longitudinal twin data ( N = 944, 474 females, 470 males; 91.9% White) to examine continuity of AP from childhood (ages 7–14) and adolescence (age 17) to adulthood (age 29), and whether impulsivity in adolescence (age 16) and adulthood (age 29) explains unique variance in adult AP beyond earlier AP. Childhood and adolescent AP significantly correlated with adult AP ( r s = .15–.31), indicating moderate developmental continuity; however, adult impulsivity uniquely predicted adult AP ( β = 0.43) beyond earlier AP and adolescent impulsivity. Twin models suggested that adult AP reflected both continuity of earlier genetic influences and novel genetic influences ( r A = 0.29–0.62), whereas nonshared environmental influences showed minimal continuity across time ( r E = −0.06–0.08). The partial association between adult impulsivity and adult AP, controlling for earlier measures, was primarily driven by nonshared environmental influences (89.1%) in adulthood, with smaller genetic overlap (10.9%). These findings indicate that adult AP reflect both stable developmental liability and adult-specific influences, and identify impulsivity as an important component of adult AP.
Abstract Youth irritability, characterized as proneness to anger/frustration, is associated with negative mental health outcomes. This study identified irritability trajectories across the transition to early adolescence and applied machine learning to identify preadolescent predictors of irritability trajectories. Data are from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a large longitudinal study that tracks youth development from preadolescence ( n = 11,862, ages 8.92–11.08 years, M = 9.91, SD = 0.62). The baseline sample was 47.83% female ( n = 5,680), 63.35% White, 15.74% Black, 12.07% Biracial or Multiracial, 2.32% Asian, and 20.30% Hispanic. Using parent-report youth irritability scores across four years, latent class growth analysis (LCGA) identified four distinct irritability trajectories: low stable ( n = 8,692, 73.28%), high decreasing ( n = 1,083, 9.13%), low increasing ( n = 1,449, 12.22%), and high chronic ( n = 638, 5.38%). Machine learning approaches generated predictive models for irritability trajectories, including baseline youth psychopathology, physical health, neurocognitive abilities, psychosocial environment, demographics, parent psychopathology, and brain structure metrics. The models demonstrated strong performance in detecting probability of being in the high chronic and low stable trajectories but poorer performance in classifying the irritability trajectories characterized by change. The most prominent predictors included youth externalizing and internalizing problems, parent psychopathology, and sleep problems. Findings provide insight into preadolescent predictors of irritability across a critical developmental period.
