Emotional Clarity and Childhood Depression: Antecedents and Explanatory Mechanisms
Flynn, Megan
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/82161
Description
Title
Emotional Clarity and Childhood Depression: Antecedents and Explanatory Mechanisms
Author(s)
Flynn, Megan
Issue Date
2008
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Rudolph, Karen D.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Developmental
Language
eng
Abstract
This study examined potential antecedents and consequences deficits in child emotional clarity. It was hypothesized that deficits in child emotional clarity would confer vulnerability to depressive symptoms, and that maladaptive stress responses would account for this link. This mediational process was hypothesized to hold under conditions of high, but not low, levels of stress. Additionally, characteristics of children (i.e., temperament) and their environment (i.e., caregiver emotional clarity) were investigated as antecedents of children's emotional clarity, stress responses, and depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that temperament and caregiver emotional clarity would have both independent and interactive effects on children's emotional clarity, stress responses, and depressive symptoms. Participants included 373 2nd-3rd grade children, their caregivers, and their teachers. Participants completed questionnaires at two waves, spaced approximately one year apart. Analyses were conducted concurrently and over time. Results revealed consistent support for the proposed associations among deficits in child emotional clarity, maladaptive stress responses, and depressive symptoms. Results revealed more modest support for the proposed antecedents of deficits in child emotional clarity, stress responses, and depressive symptoms. Findings have direct implications for intervention efforts aimed toward emotional understanding and adaptive stress responses.
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