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1
Relationships among Adolescents Negative
Interaction Styles with Friends and Romantic
Partners and Depressive Symptoms Joanna M.
Chango, Erin M. Miga, Joseph P.
Allen University of Virginia
Introduction

• Measures and Procedure
• The following data were collected during the
  first wave of the study, when teens were
  approximately 13 years old (M13.35, SD0.63)
• - Negative communication patterns within
  friendships
• Adolescent interaction styles with their
  close friends,
• specifically negative autonomy and
  relatedness
• behaviors, were assessed during an
  observed revealed
• differences task. The Autonomy and
  Relatedness
• Coding System for Peer Interactions
  (Allen, Porter,
• McFarland, 2001 Allen et al., 2000) was
  used to code
• the interactions. Examples of teen
  behaviors that
• undermine autonomy and relatedness include
• pressuring, overpersonalizing, and
  avoidance, and
• rudeness, respectively.
• - Baseline depressive symptoms
• Teens self-reported baseline depression
  level was
• measured using the Childhood Depression
  Inventory
• (CDI Kovacs Beck, 1997).

1. Observed adolescent negative autonomy and
   relatedness with friends at age 13 predicts
   higher levels of verbal abuse and blame towards
   romantic partners at age 18.

• Previous research demonstrates that specific
  adolescents interaction patterns experienced
  within friendships may carryover, or are at least
  related to similar behaviors within romantic
  relationships (Connolly Johnson, 1996 Furman,
  1999 Furman Shomaker, 2008)
• Furthermore, difficulties in interpersonal
  relationships are often recognized as key risk
  factors for the development of depressive
  symptoms (Coyne, 1976a, 1976b)
• Although researchers suggest that both peer and
  romantic relationships become significant
  contexts for adolescent social interaction and
  development (e.g., Furman, Brown, Feiring,
  1999 Buhrmester, 1998 Berndt, 1996), we know
  very little about how specific dysfunctional
  communication styles within these close
  relationships relate to future depression.

Note. p lt .05. p lt .01. N 184.
TNteen Gender and income included as covariates
2) Higher levels of teen abuse and blame towards
romantic partners at age 18 subsequently predicts
relative increases in depressive symptoms at age
21.
Research Questions

• The present study seeks to examine the following
  questions
• Do similar negative interaction patterns learned
  in early teen friendships emerge in romantic
  relationships in late adolescence?
• 2) If so, what is the subsequent effect on
  adolescent psychopathology, particularly
  depression?

Note. p lt .05. p .11. N 184.
TNteen Gender, income, and baseline depression
included as covariates
Conclusion

• Given the longitudinal nature of the results,
  they are interpreted in terms of a possible
  developmental model of adolescent depression,
  such that problematic friendship patterns are
  translated to later romantic relationships, which
  subsequently predict higher levels of depressive
  symptoms.
• Furthermore, this study supports previous
  research highlighting the significance of
  problematic interpersonal relationships during
  adolescence in relation to depression.
• Results also hold important implications for
  psychosocial interventions for depression that
  seek to target the improvement of adolescent
  social relationships and social skills.

Methods

• Participants
• Multi-method and longitudinal data were obtained
  for 184 target adolescents (86 male and 98
  female), their same sex close friends, and their
  opposite sex romantic partners.
• Median family income of target teens was in the
  40,000-59,000 range
• The sample is 63 European-American, 27
  African-American, and 10 mixed or other race.

Results

• A series of hierarchical linear regressions was
  performed and Full Information Maximum Likelihood
  (FIML) was employed to handle occasional missing
  data. Results revealed that