Longitudinal Modeling of Interpersonal Stress Induced Rumination to Understand Depression Risk in Adolescent Girls

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY Rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) sharply increase in adolescence, particularly for girls, with approximately 30% of girls experiencing an episode of MDD by adulthood. Stress-reactive rumination (SRR), the tendency to engage in rumination following the experience of stress or negative events, has been identified as a specific mechanism of depression risk for adolescent girls that may be an important target for intervention. Yet, progress in translating this research to targeted prevention and intervention efforts is hindered by a lack of understanding of 1) the precise neural and behavioral mechanisms through which SRR eventuates in future youth depression risk, 2) how these processes unfold over time in real-world settings, 3) key factors that promote or mitigate altered SRR patterns and future depression in adolescent girls, and 4) how and when changes in SRR over development, versus a single time point, correspond to changes in depression during adolescence. Addressing these questions is pivotal for determining which adolescent females should be targeted with prevention or intervention efforts aimed at modifying SRR patterns and identifying optimal windows for intervention. The current R01 will employ a novel, multimodal, longitudinal study to test whether alterations in cognitive-affective brain networks (salience emotional, cognitive control, and default-mode networks) during stress-induced rumination predict future depression trajectories in adolescent girls (Aim 1). To increase the ecological validity and applicability of this work, we will also test if naturalistic (ecological momentary assessment, EMA) experiences of stress reactive rumination in response to day-to-day stressors predict increases in daily depressive symptoms (Aim 2). We will assess factors that protect against (i.e., family cohesion) or exacerbate (i.e., early life adversity) alterations in stress-reactive rumination development and subsequent depression to identify adolescent girls who could most benefit from targeted interventions (Aim 3). Finally, by adding three time points of neuroimaging, EMA, and depression assessments, we will build on prior work by studying trajectories of change (and predictive modeling) in rumination across naturalistic and brain levels (Aim 4). To achieve these aims, we will leverage our unique access to risk-enhanced youth in Columbus to recruit 210 youth females aged 10-14. At baseline, 12- and 24-months, youth will complete a reliable stress-induced rumination task during magnetic resonance imaging and resting-state scan to measure key cognitive-affective brain networks. Each imaging time pointed is time-locked to the 14-day EMA protocol to capture rumination and other coping strategy use following daily stressors. Family relationship quality and cohesion and child early life adversity exposure at individual and community-levels will be assessed at every time point, along with parent, youth, and clinician- rated assessments of child’s depressive symptoms and disorders. Findings from the project may lead to novel stress-reactive rumination prevention programs that could be delivered during early adolescence prior to the emergence of depression to break risk cycles more effectively.