Information Processing Biases Concurrently and Prospectively Predict Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Evidence from a Self-Referent Encoding Task

摘要

Negative information processing biases have been hypothesized to serve as precursors for the development of depression. The current study examined negative self-referent information processing and depressive symptoms in a community sample of adolescents (N= 291, Mage at baseline = 12.34 ± 0.61, 53% female, 47.4% African American, 49.5% Caucasian and 3.1% Biracial). Participants completed a computerized self-referent encoding task (SRET) and a measure of depressive symptoms at baseline and completed an additional measure of depressive symptoms nine months later. Several negative information processing biases on the SRET were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms and predicted increases in depressive symptoms at follow-up. Findings partially support the hypothesis that negative information processing biases are associated with depressive symptoms in a nonclinical sample of adolescents, and provide preliminary evidence that these biases prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms.