Chad-Friedman Emma, Leppert Katherine A, Olino Thomas M, Bufferd Sara J, Dougherty Lea R
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2022 Apr;53(2):244-255. doi: 10.1007/s10578-021-01121-w. Epub 2021 Jan 21.
Although irritability and sadness are cardinal symptoms of depression, they are also common in preschoolers. The daily experiences of these emotions are not well-understood during early childhood, yet may provide insight into identification of early depressive symptoms. The current longitudinal study examined daily mean levels and emotion dynamics of preschool-aged children's irritability and sadness and psychiatric outcomes in early school-age. Parents (n = 291) completed 14 consecutive daily diaries about their preschoolers' emotions. Two years later, parents (n = 164) completed a semi-structured clinical interview and questionnaires about their children's psychological functioning. Strong correlations between mean and dynamic measures (rs = 0.65-0.91) were identified. Preschoolers' mean daily levels and dynamics of irritability (variability, instability, inertia) and sadness (instability, inertia) predicted symptoms and impairment 2 years later. Sadness instability and inertia continued to predict difficulties after adjusting for mean daily sadness. Fine-grained daily measures of preschoolers' affect may be help identify children at-risk for psychological problems.
虽然易怒和悲伤是抑郁症的主要症状，但在学龄前儿童中也很常见。在幼儿期，这些情绪的日常体验尚未得到充分理解，但可能有助于洞察早期抑郁症状的识别。当前的纵向研究考察了学龄前儿童易怒和悲伤的每日平均水平、情绪动态以及学龄早期的精神状况。家长（n = 291）连续14天记录孩子的情绪日记。两年后，家长（n = 164）完成了关于孩子心理功能的半结构化临床访谈和问卷。研究发现平均水平与动态测量之间存在强相关性（rs = 0.65 - 0.91）。学龄前儿童易怒（变异性、不稳定性、惯性）和悲伤（不稳定性、惯性）的每日平均水平及动态能够预测两年后的症状和功能损害。在调整每日平均悲伤水平后，悲伤的不稳定性和惯性仍能预测困难情况。对学龄前儿童情绪进行细致的日常测量可能有助于识别有心理问题风险的儿童。
