Pleasing or withdrawing: Differences between dependent and self-critical depression in psychosocial functioning following rejection

A network approach to personality vulnerability symptom structure across early, middle, and late adolescence: Insights from a large-scale sample

BACKGROUND

The two-polarity model of personality development posits that personality vulnerabilities, specifically dependency and self-criticism, play a critical role in adolescent psychopathology risk. This theoretical framework emphasizes the importance of understanding how these vulnerabilities manifest and develop during adolescence, as adolescents face distinct developmental challenges at different stages. However, existing research overlooks the impact of stage-specific challenges on the development of personality vulnerabilities.

METHOD

This study included 24,946 Chinese adolescents (Mage ± SD = 15.50 ± 2.03; 46.50 % girls) divided into three age groups: early (10-13 years, N = 4652), middle (14-17 years, N = 15,065), and late (18-20 years, N = 5229). We employed network analysis to investigate the symptom structure of self-criticism and dependency through different adolescent stages, focusing on core symptoms (highly connected nodes), bridges (links between dependency and self-criticism), and potential causal relationships.

RESULT

Feelings of disappointing others and loneliness after arguments are consistently central to self-criticism and dependency, respectively. Connections between these vulnerabilities change across stages. Evidence from the directed acyclic graph suggests that self-criticism gradually replaces dependency as the key to triggering experiences of personality vulnerability from early to late adolescence.

CONCLUSION

This study identified the personality vulnerability network structure across three stages of adolescents. The results highlight a developmental shift in the triggering sequences of personality vulnerability, moving from predominantly dependency in early adolescence to increased self-criticism in later stages. These insights underscore the significance of the developmental context in shaping personality vulnerabilities across adolescence and offer crucial directions for stage-specific interventions.

Investigating psychometric properties of short versions of the depressive experiences questionnaire: Findings from a representative large sample of Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUND

Adolescence involves a period of swift change, including the development of personality vulnerabilities (i.e., dependency and self-criticism) that act as transdiagnostic factors to psychopathology. Over the past several decades, numerous short revisions have condensed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) into more efficient measures of personality vulnerability. Prior research has investigated the psychometric properties of the short DEQs in adult and clinical samples. However, there has been insufficient exploration within adolescents, who are in addition marked by fluctuating personality vulnerabilities.

METHOD

A representative large sample of adolescents and emerging adults in China aged 10 to 25 (N = 23,953) was administered five short DEQs, including the Revised DEQ (RevDEQ), Reconstructed DEQ (RecDEQ), Theoretical DEQ-21/12 (TDEQ-21/12) and adolescent DEQ (DEQ-A). The data was evaluated for internal consistency and criterion-related validity, while factor structure and measurement invariances across gender and age groups were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A subset of the original sample (N = 2874) was retested after six months and analyzed for test-retest reliability and cross-time invariance.

RESULT

CFA of the TDEQ-21/12 and RecDEQ supported the intended two-factor model. Good criterion-related validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability for these three versions were found. Satisfying measurement invariances across gender, time, and age groups were established.

LIMITATION

The study's scope was confined to non-clinical adolescent populations within China, highlighting a gap in cross-cultural and clinical applicability.

CONCLUSION

The present study supports the use of the TDEQ-21/12 and RecDEQ as valid and concise instruments for measuring Chinese adolescent personality vulnerability.

Dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale in adolescents from community and residential youth care

BACKGROUND

Social safeness has been proposed as the individual's perception of the social world as being warmth and soothing. The lack of social safeness has been suggested as a transdiagnostic socio-emotional vulnerability for several mental health difficulties. To date there was no study addressing experiences of social safeness in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To validate and study the psychometric properties of the Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale to Portuguese adolescents from community and residential care homes.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A total of 731 Portuguese adolescents from community and residential youth care homes participated on this study. The community sample was composed of adolescents recruited from regular schools (208 boys; 224 girls). The residential youth care sample was composed of adolescents placed in residential care homes (145 boys; 154 girls).

METHODS

A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and measurement invariance investigated.

RESULTS

A one-factor solution presented a good fit across all samples and proved to be invariant (configural, metric, scalar and strict measurement invariance). Moreover, internal consistency values were excellent for all samples (α > 0.93) and evidence for construct validity in relation to external variables was found. Means comparisons revealed significant differences between all tested groups. Community adolescents reported higher social safeness in comparison to the adolescents placed in residential care. Within both samples, boys scored higher in the SSPS-A when compared to girls.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide evidence on the SSPS-A validity and its use across diverse adolescent samples.

Shyness and depressive symptoms: a multiple mediation model involving core self-evaluations and sense of security

BACKGROUND

Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders among Chinese university students. Some depressed students are observed to be shy. Therefore, the current study aimed to verify the association of shyness and depression symptoms and explore how shyness is positively associated with depressive symptoms. According to Blatt's model of depression, the current study explores the mediating roles of core self-evaluation and sense of security, as an affective factor and a cognitive factor, in the relationship between shyness and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

The participants (543 Chinese college students) completed the Revised Henderson Undergraduate Shyness Scale, Core Self-Evaluations Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Security Questionnaire. The bivariate correlations between variables andthe multiple mediation model were tested by correlation analysis and structural equation model respectively.

RESULTS

Shyness was significantly and positively correlated with depressive symptoms; shyness and depressive symptoms were significantly and negatively correlated with sense of security and core self-evaluations; and sense of security was significantly and positively correlated with core self-evaluations. Core self-evaluations and sense of security played complete mediating effects in the relationship between shyness and depressive symptoms parallelly and sequentially.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design we used limited causal interpretations. Besides, the sample was restricted to college students, and the generalizability of the results is thus limited.

CONCLUSIONS

Shyness increases the risk ofdepression by reducing the sense of security and core self-evaluation, as well as by the sequential mediating effects of sense of security and core self-evaluations.

Synergistic effect of autonomy and relatedness satisfaction on cognitive deconstruction

We connected self-determination theory (SDT) and escape theory to deepen the understanding of the antecedents of cognitive deconstruction by introducing autonomy and relatedness satisfaction. Based on three laboratory experiments, results showed a limited determining role of autonomy satisfaction (Experiment 1); however, the causal relationship strengthened when autonomy satisfaction was in conjunction with relatedness satisfaction (Experiments 2 and 3). Relatedness satisfaction constantly predicts all symptoms of cognitive deconstruction. Importantly, all independent explanatory powers of the two require satisfactions when explaining that the symptoms of cognitive deconstruction were qualified by their interaction terms. Regardless of relatedness satisfaction, autonomy satisfaction always positively relates to time orientation. The relationship between autonomy satisfaction and meaninglessness is only negative when relatedness satisfaction is low. The relationship between autonomy satisfaction and delayed gratification is only positive when relatedness satisfaction is high.