Correlates of depression following romantic breakups in adolescence

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Authors
Peresie, Cheryl A.
Advisor
Paulson, Sharon E.
Issue Date
2002
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (Ph.D.)
Department
Department of Educational Psychology
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if adolescents who exhibited different profiles with respect to gender and the social-cognitive variables of negative mood regulation expectancy (beliefs regarding one's ability to alleviate negative moods), self-concept, personal uniqueness (a facet of adolescent egocentrism defined as the conviction that one is "special"), and daily hassles differed on current and post-romantic breakup depression levels. Subjects were 72 adolescents (19 males, 52 females, and 1 undesignated gender) attending a medium-sized Midwestern high school located in a city with a population of approximately 70,000. The mean age of the adolescents was 16.5 years. Eighty percent of the participants were White. A romantic relationship was defined as one that was exclusive, acknowledged to exist by both parties, and based on mutual feelings of attraction. All participants experienced a breakup with a romantic partner during the 12 months preceding the study. Self-report measures of depression (one referring to the week just prior to the study and one targeting the first week after the breakup) and the four social-cognitive variables were administered in random order. Results of a K-Means cluster analysis showed that adolescents who reported strong beliefs in their ability to alleviate negative affect, high self-concepts, weak personal uniqueness beliefs, and few hassles experienced the least amount of depression. Conversely, teenagers professing weak mood regulation beliefs, low self-concepts, a strong sense of uniqueness, and many hassles reported the greatest amount of depression. Females' depression scores were higher than males', but the relation was not significant. Notably, 45% of the participants reported current depression levels indicative of the need for further screening. Twenty-five percent of adolescents in the sample had current scores in the "clinically depressed" range. With respect to post-breakup depression, 76% of the teenagers reported scores at or above the screening cutoff point, whereas 51 % had scores indicating clinically significant symptoms.These results suggest that school psychologists and counselors should take seriously the romantic breakups that occur during adolescence. Addressing adolescents' post-breakup depression would be a prime opportunity for these professionals to demonstrate their expertise in the areas of prevention, intervention, and consultation.