Factors associated with resilience in relation to depressive symptoms experienced by adolescent populations: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder which presents significant disability to affected adolescents. In view of the potential roles of resilience for prognostication and early intervention in adolescents with depressive symptoms, the current review sought to summarize the existing literature, focusing on the interrelation between resilience and adolescent depressive symptoms alongside other clinical correlates. EVIDENCE ACQUISTION: A systematic review was conducted using electronic databases for articles published before 26 May 2021. Studies which examined resilience in relation to depressive symptomatology in adolescents were included. A total of 23 studies were identified as appropriate for the review. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: First, higher levels of resilience were associated with a lower likelihood of adolescent depressive symptoms. Second, resilience acted as both a mediator and a moderator in the associations between deliberate self-harm, past experiences, psychological percept, social character traits, interpersonal relationships and depression. Third, besides resilience, we have also identified family, peer-school, individual and environmental factors that mitigate the risk of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Viewed within the context of various resiliency and depression theories (O'Leary's Resilience Models, Beck's cognitive triad, Resilience Doughnut Framework), suggestions were made to enhance resilience and other protective factors in the holistic management of adolescent depression. Future research should include more samples with clinically established depression and non-Asian samples to account for potential cultural differences.