Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T14:34:19.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Joint trajectories of depression and perfectionism across adolescence and childhood risk factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2017

Tracy Vaillancourt  and
John D. Haltigan
Tracy Vaillancourt*
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
John D. Haltigan
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Tracy Vaillancourt, Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education and School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, 145 Jean-Jacques-Lussier, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada; E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The codevelopment of symptoms of depression and socially prescribed perfectionism across adolescence (age 12–17) and non–age-overlapping childhood predictors (age 10–11) of joint trajectory group membership were examined in a sample of 700 Canadian youth. Results indicated that most adolescents (75.8%) followed a trajectory of low depression symptoms (low stable), whereas 15.7% followed an increasing trajectory (increasing), and 8.5% followed a trajectory that began high and decreased over time (high decreasing). More girls than boys were found in the increasing and high decreasing depression trajectories. Adolescents followed three distinct trajectories of socially prescribed perfectionism: 41.6% were in a low stable group, 40.5% in a moderate increasing group, and 17.9% in a high increasing group. Eight percent followed a high-risk dual trajectory of increasing depression and high increasing socially prescribed perfectionism. This joint trajectory was predicted by being bullied, anxious, and relationally aggressive (compared to the low-risk trajectory of low stable depression and perfectionism) at ages 10 and 11. These same predictors, along with poorer family functioning and lower family income, differentiated the joint high decreasing depression/high increasing perfectionism group from the low/low joint group, which comprised of 3.8% of the sample. The developmental progression was best characterized as depression leading to socially prescribed perfectionism. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , May 2018 , pp. 461 - 477
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This study was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation. We thank Heather Brittain, Amanda Krygsman, and Patricia McDougall for help with the study. We also thank Gordon L. Flett for his very helpful comments.

References

Aalto-Setälä, T., Marttunen, M., Tuulio-Henriksson, A., Poikolainen, K., & Lönnqvist, J. (2002). Depressive symptoms in adolescence as predictors of early adulthood depressive disorders and maladjustment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1235–1237. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1235Google Scholar
Agerup, T., Lydersen, S., Wallander, J., & Sund, A. M. (2014). Longitudinal course of diagnosed depression from ages 15 to 20 in a community sample: Patterns and parental risk factors. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 45, 753–764. doi:10.1007/s10578-014-0444-8Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Worthman, C. M. (1998). Puberty and depression: The roles of age, pubertal status and pubertal timing. Psychological Medicine, 28, 51–61.Google Scholar
Asseraf, M., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Longitudinal links between perfectionism and depression in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 895–908. doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9947-9Google Scholar
Avenevoli, S., Swendsen, J., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., & Merikangas, K. R. (2015). Major depression in the national comorbidity survey adolescent supplement: Prevalence, correlates, and treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54, 37–44 doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2014.10.010Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy for depression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Békés, V., Dunkley, D. M., Taylor, G., Zuroff, D. C., Lewkowski, M., Elizabeth Foley, J., … Westreich, R. (2015). Chronic stress and attenuated improvement in depression over 1 year: The moderating role of perfectionism. Behavior Therapy, 46, 478–492. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2015.02.003Google Scholar
Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 57, 289–300.Google Scholar
Beorgers, J., Spirito, A., & Donaldson, D. (1998). Reasons for adolescent suicide attempts: Associations with psychological functioning. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 1287–1293. doi:10.1097/00004583-199812000-00012Google Scholar
Blain-Arcaro, C., & Vaillancourt, T. (2016). Longitudinal associations between depression and aggression in children and adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0204-2Google Scholar
Blatt, S. J. (1995). The destructiveness of perfectionism: Implications for the treatment of depression. American Psychologist, 50, 1003–1020. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.50.12.1003Google Scholar
Burgess, A., & DiBartolo, P. M. (2015). Anxiety and perfectionism: Relationships, mechanisms, and conditions. In Sirois, F. M. & Molnar, D. S. (Eds.), Perfectionism, health, and well-being (pp. 177–203). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Chen, H., Cohen, P., & Chen, S. (2010). How big is a big odds ratio? Interpreting the magnitudes of odds ratios in epidemiological studies. Communication in Statistics—Simulation and Computation, 39, 860–864. doi:10.1080/03610911003650383Google Scholar
Cleverley, K., Szatmari, P., Vaillancourt, T., Boyle, M., & Lipman, E. (2012). Developmental trajectories of physical and indirect aggression from late childhood to adolescence: Sex differences and outcomes in emerging adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 1037–1051. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2012.07.010Google Scholar
Costello, D. M., Swendsen, J., Rose, J. S., & Dierker, L. C. (2008). Risk and protective factors associated with trajectories of depressed mood from adolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 173–183. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.76.2.173Google Scholar
Cox, B. J., & Enns, M. W. (2003). Relative stability of dimensions of perfectionism in depression. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 35, 124–132. doi:10.1037/h0087194Google Scholar
Crick, N. R. (1997). Engagement in gender normative versus nonnormative forms of aggression: Links to social–psychological adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 33, 610–617. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.610Google Scholar
Cunningham, C. E., Pettingill, P., & Boyle, M. (2006). The Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI-3): Computerized intake and outcome assessment tool. Interviewers' manual. Toronto: BCFPI Works.Google Scholar
Enns, M. W., & Cox, B. J. (1999). Perfectionism and depression symptom severity in major depressive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 783–794. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00188-0Google Scholar
Enns, M. W., Cox, B. J., & Clara, I. (2002). Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism: Developmental origins and association with depression proneness. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 921–935. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00202-1Google Scholar
Flett, G. L., Coulter, L.-M., Hewitt, P. L., & Nepon, T. (2011). Perfectionism, rumination, worry, and depressive symptoms in early adolescents. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 26, 159–176. doi:10.1177/0829573511422039Google Scholar
Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2002). Perfectionism: Theory, research, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2014). A proposed framework for preventing perfectionism and promoting resilience and mental health among vulnerable children. Psychology in the Schools, 51, 899–912. doi:10.1002/pits.21792Google Scholar
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., Boucher, D. J., Davidson, L. A., & Munro, Y. (1997). The Child–Adolescent Perfectionism Scale: Development, validation, and association with adjustment. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449–468.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. E. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 128–140. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.107.1.128Google Scholar
Harrington, R., Rutter, M., & Fombonne, E. (1996). Developmental pathways in depression: Multiple meanings, antecedents, and endpoints. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 601–616. doi:10.1017/S095457940000732XGoogle Scholar
Hawley, L. L., Zuroff, D. C., Brozina, K., & Dobson, K. S. (2014). Self-critical perfectionism and stress reactivity following cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 7, 287–303.Google Scholar
Herman, K. C., Wang, K., Trotter, R., Reinke, W. M., & Ialongo, N. (2013). Developmental trajectories of maladaptive perfectionism among African American adolescents. Child Development, 84, 1633–1650. doi:10.1111/cdev.12078Google Scholar
Hewitt, P. L., Caelian, C. F., Flett, G. L., Sherry, S. B., Collins, L., & Flynn, C. A. (2002). Perfectionism in children: Associations with depression, anxiety, and anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 1049–1061. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00109-XGoogle Scholar
Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991a). Dimensions of perfectionism in unipolar depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 98–101. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.100.1.98Google Scholar
Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991b). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456–470. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456Google Scholar
Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Ediger, E. (1996). Perfectionism and depression: Longitudinal assessment of a specific vulnerability hypothesis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 276–280. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.105.2.276Google Scholar
Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Sherry, S. B., & Caelian, C. (2006). Trait perfectionism dimensions and suicidal behavior. In Ellis, T. (Ed.), Cognition and suicide: Theory, research, and therapy (pp. 215–235). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Hong, R. Y., Lee, S. S. M., Chng, R. Y., Zhou, Y., Tsai, F.-F., & Tan, S. H. (2016). Developmental trajectories of maladaptive perfectionism in middle childhood. Journal of Personality. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/jopy.12249Google Scholar
Keitner, G. I., & Miller, I. W. (1990). Family functioning and major depression: An overview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 1128–1137.Google Scholar
Kendler, K. S., Gardner, C. O., & Prescott, C. A. (2002). Toward a comprehensive developmental model for major depression in women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1133–1145. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1133Google Scholar
Kessler, R., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K., & Walters, E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593–602. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593Google Scholar
Kim-Cohen, J., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Harrington, H., Milne, B. J., & Poulton, R. (2003). Prior juvenile diagnoses in adults with mental disorder: Developmental follow-back of a prospective-longitudinal cohort. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 709–717. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.7.709Google Scholar
Little, T. D., Henrich, C. C., Jones, S. M., & Hawley, P. H. (2003). Disentangling the “whys” from the “whats” of aggressive behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 122–133.Google Scholar
McCreary, B. T., Joiner, T. E., Schmidt, N. B., & Ialongo, N. S. (2004). The structure and correlates of perfectionism in African American children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 313–324. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3302_13Google Scholar
McDougall, P., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Long-term adult outcomes of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence: Pathways to adjustment and maladjustment. American Psychologist, 70, 300–310. doi:10.1037/a0039174Google Scholar
McGrath, D. S., Sherry, S. B., Stewart, S. H., Mushquash, A. R., Allen, S. L., Nealis, L. J., & Sherry, D. L. (2012). Reciprocal relations between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Evidence from a short-term, four-wave longitudinal study. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 44, 169–181.Google Scholar
Merikangas, K. R., Zhang, H., Avenevoli, S., Acharyya, S., Neuenschwander, M., & Angst, J. (2003). Longitudinal trajectories of depression and anxiety in a prospective community study: The Zurich cohort study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 993–1000. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.9.993Google Scholar
Miller, J. L., & Vaillancourt, T. (2007). Relation between childhood peer victimization and adult perfectionism: Are victims of indirect aggression more perfectionistic? Aggressive Behavior, 33, 230–241. doi:10.1002/ab.20183Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998). Mplus user's guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Nagin, D. S., & Tremblay, R. E. (2001). Analyzing developmental trajectories of distinct but related behaviors. Psychological Methods, 6, 18–34. doi:10.I037//1082-989X.6.U8Google Scholar
Nilsson, J. E., Paul, B. D., Lupini, L. N., & Tatem, B. (1999). Journal of College Student Development, 40, 141–150.Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2001). Gender differences in depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 173–176.Google Scholar
O'Connor, R. C., Dixon, D., & Rasmussen, S. (2009). The structure and temporal stability of the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale. Psychological Assessment, 21, 437–443. doi:10.1037/a0016264Google Scholar
O'Connor, R. C., Rasmussen, S., & Hawton, K. (2010). Predicting depression, anxiety, and self-harm in adolescents: The role of perfectionism and acute life stress. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 52–59. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.09.008Google Scholar
Offord, D. R., Boyle, M. H., Szatmari, P., Rae-Grant, N. I., Links, P. S., Cadman, D. T., … Thomas, H. (1987). Ontario Child Health Study: II. Six-month prevalence of disorder and rates of service utilization. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 832–836. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800210084013Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1996). The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Bergen.Google Scholar
Restifo, K., & Bögels, S. (2009). Family processes in the development of youth depression: Translating the evidence to treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 294–316. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.02.005Google Scholar
Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (2004). Behavior assessment system for children (2nd ed. manual). Minneapolis, MN: Pearson.Google Scholar
Roxborough, H. M., Hewitt, P. L., Kaldas, J., Flett, G. L., Caelian, C. M., Sherry, S., & Sherry, D. L. (2012). Perfectionistic self-presentation, socially prescribed perfectionism, and suicide in youth: A test of the perfectionism social disconnection model. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42, 217–233. doi:10.1111/j.1943-278X.2012.00084.xGoogle Scholar
Roza, S. J., Hofstra, M. B., van der Ende, J., & Verhulst, F. C. (2003). Stable prediction of mood and anxiety disorders based on behavioral and emotional problems in childhood: A 14-year follow-up during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 2116–2121. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.12.2116Google Scholar
Rudolph, K. D., & Conley, C. S. (2005). The socioemotional costs and benefits of social-evaluative concerns: Do girls care too much? Journal of Personality, 73, 115–138. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2004.00306.xGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M., Kim-Cohen, J., & Maughan, B. (2006). Continuities and discontinuities in psychopathology between childhood and adult life. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 276–295. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01614.xGoogle Scholar
Shafran, R., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2002). Clinical perfectionism: A cognitive–behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 773–791. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00059-6Google Scholar
Sherry, S. B., Law, A., Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Besser, A. (2008). Social support as a mediator of the relationship between perfectionism and depression: A preliminary test of the social disconnection model. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 339–344. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.05.001Google Scholar
Sherry, S. B., Mackinnon, S. P., Macneil, M. A., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2012). Discrepancies confer vulnerability to depressive symptoms: A three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 112–126. doi:10.1037/a0030439Google Scholar
Sherry, S. B., Richards, J. E., Sherry, D. L., & Stewart, S. H. (2014). Self-critical perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for depression but not anxiety: A 12-month, 3-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 52, 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.05.004Google Scholar
Sironic, A., & Reeve, R. A. (2015). A combined analysis of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS), and Almost Perfect Scale—Revised (APS-R): Different perfectionist profiles in adolescent high school students. Psychological Assessment, 27, 1471–1483. doi:10.1037/pas0000137Google Scholar
Stice, E., Shaw, H., Bohon, C., Marti, C. N., & Rohde, P. (2009). A meta-analytic review of depression prevention programs for children and adolescents: Factors that predict magnitude of intervention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 486–503. doi:10.1037/a0015168Google Scholar
Twenge, J. M., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children's depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 578–588. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.111.4.578Google Scholar
Vaillancourt, T., Trinh, V., McDougall, P., Duku, E., Cunningham, L., Cunningham, C., … Short, K. (2010). Optimizing population screening of bullying in school-aged children. Journal of School Violence, 9, 233–250. doi:10.1080/15388220.2010.483182Google Scholar
Walker, E. R., McGee, R. E., & Druss, B. G. (2015). Mortality in mental disorders and global disease burden implications: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72, 334–341. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.2502Google Scholar
Whiteford, H. A., Degenhardt, L., Rehm, J., Baxter, A. J., Ferrari, A. J., Erskine, H. E., … Johns, N. (2013). Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet, 382, 1575–1586.Google Scholar
Xie, H., McHugo, G. J., He, X., & Drake, R. E. (2009). Using the group-based dual trajectory model to analyze two related longitudinal outcomes. Journal of Drug Issues, 40, 45–61. doi:10.1177/002204261004000104Google Scholar
Yaroslavsky, I., Pettit, J. W., Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., & Roberts, R. E. (2013). Heterogeneous trajectories of depressive symptoms: Adolescent predictors and adult outcomes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148, 391–399. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.06.028Google Scholar