Childhood and adolescent predictors of major depression in the transition to adulthood.

Objective: The identification of predictors of major depression in the transition to adulthood has direct application to prevention and intervention efforts designed to forestall depression in this high-risk period. The current study identified childhood and adolescent familial and behavioral-emotional factors predicting depression during this critical developmental stage.

Method: The 354 participants were part of a single-age cohort from a predominately Caucasian working-class community whose psychosocial development has been traced prospectively since age 5.

Child and adolescent predictors for eating disorders in a community population of young adult women.

Objective: This study investigated early predictors for developing eating disorders by young adulthood in a community sample of women participating in a 22-year longitudinal study.

Method: Twenty-one women were identified at age 27 with lifetime full or partial eating disorders. These women were compared with 47 women with no history of eating disorders on predictive factors from three broad domains.