A 6-Year Longitudinal Study of Adolescents and Mothers Depression Symptoms and their Perception of Support and Conflict

Interpersonal theories of adolescent depression assume that adolescent and maternal depression symptoms afect adolescent
and maternal perceptions of their relationship quality. However, little attention has been given to examining potential bidirectional prospective associations between both adolescent and maternal perceptions of the mother–adolescent relationship
and adolescent and maternal depression symptoms across adolescence. We hypothesized that the longitudinal associations
between adolescent and maternal depression symptoms and adolescent and maternal perception of confict and support in
the mother–adolescent relationship would be bidirectional. In this 6-year longitudinal study, 497 adolescents (Mage=13.03)
and their mothers participated. Each year both adolescents and their mothers completed questionnaires of their depression
symptoms and their perception of confict and support in the mother–adolescent relationship. Structural equation modelling
cross-lagged panel models were constructed and analyzed. The cross-lagged panel models found bidirectional longitudinal
associations between adolescent depressive symptoms and higher adolescent-reported confict and lower adolescent-reported
support. In contrast, maternal depressive symptoms were only unidirectionally associated with higher maternal-reported
confict, lower maternal-reported support and higher adolescent depression symptoms. Finally, positive bidirectional longitudinal associations were found between adolescent-reported and maternal-reported confict, and between adolescentreported and maternal-reported support. The fndings of this study are discussed in relation to Interpersonal Psychotherapy
for Depressed Adolescents (IPT-A).