Modeling Temperamental Risk for Depression Using Developmentally Sensitive Laboratory Paradigms
نویسنده
چکیده
A growing literature indicates that temperamental emotionality traits may represent diatheses for mood disorders. This article describes the advantages of laboratory methods for assessing these traits, reviews issues regarding their use, and argues that these techniques provide unique opportunities for advancing understanding of temperamental risk. KEYWORDS—temperament; depression; laboratory paradigms Consistent with a rich theoretical tradition (e.g., Kraeplin, 1921; Meehl, 1987), there is growing evidence that temperament traits relevant to emotion represent early emerging diatheses for mood disorders. Depressed individuals and those at risk for mood disorders are distinguished from those at lower risk by their levels of two traits, positive emotionality (PE) and negative emotionality (NE), defined, respectively, by the propensity to respond to stimuli with positive or negative emotions, as well as by the intensity and frequency of those states (Clark & Watson, 2008). Low PE and high NE have been linked to depression in both adults and children (e.g., Brown, Chorpita, & Barlow, 1998; Kendler, Neale, Kessler, Heath, & Eaves, 1993). Three prospective studies also implicate childhood PE and NE in the development of depression. Block, Gjerde, and Block (1991) reported that low PE in childhood predicted depressive symptoms at age 18. Caspi, Moffitt, Newman, and Silva (1996) found that observational ratings of low PE and high NE in preschoolers predicted depressive disorders in young adulthood. In a cohort study, van Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to C. Emily Durbin, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 231 Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824; e-mail: [email protected]. a 2010 The Author Child Development Perspectives a 2010 The Society for Research in Child Development Volume 4, Number Os, Jones, Lewis, Wadsworth, and Murray (1997) found that physicians’ ratings of low PE in childhood predicted chronic and recurrent mood disorders in adulthood. This developmental literature provides support for models that alternatively propose that temperament traits (a) are precursors of depression, (b) are predisposing factors causally implicated in its development, or (c) emerge from causal processes similar to those that produce depression (Klein, Durbin, & Shankman, 2009). Distinguishing among these models represents a significant challenge that requires a thoughtful approach to several developmental issues, both substantive and methodological, as well as the use of longitudinal, etiologically informative research designs. First, a coherent model of how these traits are related to depression must provide a bridge between literatures across the life span, specifying if and how continuity of traits and trait–disorder associations exist. Second, a convincing model must explain the conceptual relations between temperament and depression (mapping areas of overlap and distinction), as well as their causal relations (to one another and to other etiological factors). Third, these models must be tested using multiple strategies to demonstrate generalizability and provide a comprehensive mapping of the underlying processes linking temperament to depression. Valid measurement strategies undergird the ability to address each of these substantive issues. Measurement approaches must be developed that (a) enable comparison of findings across development, (b) tap constructs at a degree of refinement closest to the level at which their causal processes operate, and (c) measure temperament constructs most strongly and uniquely related to depression in order to explore specificity. Below, I outline one measurement strategy that holds considerable promise in this regard—laboratory assessment of temperamental emotionality. LABORATORY-ASSESSED TEMPERAMENT AND
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