Cortright Chelsea, An Danming, Lansford Jennifer E, Bornstein Marc H, Chang Lei, Deater-Deckard Kirby, Di Giunta Laura, Dodge Kenneth A, Gurdal Sevtap, Junla Daranee, Liu Qin, Long Qian, Oburu Paul, Pastorelli Concetta, Skinner Ann T, Sorbring Emma, Steinberg Laurence, Uribe Tirado Liliana Maria, Yotanyamaneewong Saengduean, Alampay Liane P, Al-Hassan Suha M, Bacchini Dario
Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA.
Center for Child & Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Dev Psychopathol. 2025 Sep 15:1-12. doi: 10.1017/S0954579425100497.
Previous research has suggested bidirectional relations between depressive symptoms and both internal and external core beliefs (self-esteem and optimism, respectively) in adolescence. However, little work has examined the cultural commonality versus specificity of these developmental pathways in adolescence across diverse contexts. To address this gap, the current study traced bidirectional associations among depressive symptoms and two forms of core beliefs (self-esteem and optimism) in adolescents from 12 cultural groups in nine countries. Longitudinal data were collected from 1,090 adolescents at ages 15 and 17. Significant associations emerged between age 15 depressive symptoms and both age 17 core beliefs across all cultural groups except Sweden. No significant associations between age 15 core beliefs and age 17 depressive symptoms were found in the multigroup model. However, the pathways from core beliefs to depressive symptoms and from depressive symptoms to core beliefs did not significantly differ in strength. These findings provide cross-cultural evidence for the scar theory (depressive symptoms → core beliefs), but no clear support for the vulnerability theory (core beliefs → depressive symptoms), perhaps due to the measurement and stability of depression. These findings have implications for understanding the adolescent development of psychopathology and cognitions, such as core beliefs, across diverse cultures.
先前的研究表明，在青少年时期，抑郁症状与内在和外在核心信念（分别为自尊和乐观）之间存在双向关系。然而，很少有研究考察这些发展路径在不同背景下的青少年中的文化共性与特异性。为了填补这一空白，本研究追踪了来自九个国家12个文化群体的青少年抑郁症状与两种核心信念形式（自尊和乐观）之间的双向关联。纵向数据收集自1090名15岁和17岁的青少年。除瑞典外，在所有文化群体中，15岁时的抑郁症状与17岁时的两种核心信念之间均出现了显著关联。在多组模型中，未发现15岁时的核心信念与17岁时的抑郁症状之间存在显著关联。然而，从核心信念到抑郁症状以及从抑郁症状到核心信念的路径强度并无显著差异。这些发现为疤痕理论（抑郁症状→核心信念）提供了跨文化证据，但没有明确支持脆弱性理论（核心信念→抑郁症状），这可能是由于抑郁的测量和稳定性所致。这些发现对于理解不同文化背景下青少年心理病理学和认知（如核心信念）的发展具有启示意义。
