Predicting the transition from anxiety to depressive symptoms in early adolescence: Negative anxiety response style as a moderator of sequential comorbidity.

Background: Anxiety often precedes depression. The anxiety response styles theory of comorbidity suggests anxious individuals with a tendency to ruminate or make hopeless attributions about anxiety symptoms (negative anxiety response styles [NARS]) are more vulnerable to subsequent depressive symptoms. However, this theory has never been tested in adolescence, when the anxiety-depression transition may frequently occur, or using an extended (one-year) follow-up period.

Method: 128 early adolescent girls (M=12.39 years) participated with caregivers in a one-year longitudinal study. At baseline and follow-up, participants completed diagnostic interviews and self-report measures assessing child NARS and brooding rumination.

Results: T1 NARS predicted longitudinal elevations in depressive symptoms and increased associations between T1 anxiety and T2 depressive symptoms.

Limitations: This study examines anxiety and depression comorbidity using a community sample. The sample is relatively low on sociodemographic diversity.

Conclusions: Results support the anxiety response styles theory, with potential implications for early identification of anxious youth at risk for later development of comorbid depression.