Peer victimization, rumination, and problem solving as risk contributors to adolescents' depressive symptoms.

The author examined the integration of 2 studies of literature on the development of depressive symptoms in adolescents, addressing ruminative coping styles and peer victimization. In particular, the author tested whether increasing levels of victimization and rumination along with perceived problem solving skills in Turkish adolescents are predictive of depressive symptoms. Participants were 250 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years. The author conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine the joint and separate predictive power of problem solving, rumination, and victimization on depressive symptoms on each gender. The results of the analyses indicate that rumination accounts for a significant fraction of depressive symptoms on both genders. However, victimization made a significant contribution to the depressive symptoms only for boys. The author found no interaction effect on depressive symptoms and discusses the results in light of related literature.