Date of Award

Spring 6-13-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Psychology

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

First Advisor

Jenalee R. Doom

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Adolescent depression, Cardiometabolic disease, Resilience factors, Depressive symptoms, Heterogeneity

Abstract

Depression in adolescence is a major public health problem and is a risk factor for early-onset cardiometabolic disease. Although adolescent depression is a risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health, depression is heterogeneous and associations may differ by sex. Additionally, if risk factors such as depression can predict adulthood cardiometabolic health, resilience factors (e.g., social, school, neighborhood) that are protective for depression may also be protective for physical health, but this is an ongoing area of research. The goals of the current dissertation were to gain a better understanding of what depressive symptom presentations in adolescents are most concerning for adulthood cardiometabolic health, whether risk/protective factors relevant for adulthood depression are also relevant to cardiometabolic health, and whether associations differ by sex.

This dissertation achieved this goal through the completion of two independent studies, each presented as standalone journal articles formatted to submit for publication. Of note, the manuscripts presented here are formatted differently due to different author submission requirements for the journals I plan to submit to for publication. Study one aimed to identify depressive symptom profiles in adolescence and their association with cardiometabolic risk in adulthood separately by sex. Study two aimed to identify whether depressive symptoms (i.e., “the risk factor”) and resilience factors (e.g., social, school, neighborhood) in adolescence predicted and/or interacted with each other to differentially predict depressive symptoms and cardiometabolic risk in adulthood.

In Study 1, I found that depressive symptom profiles in female and male adolescents were similar and largely represented severity (Low, Moderate, Severe). Cardiometabolic risk differences between classes were in females only. Compared to the Low class, the Moderate class had higher cardiometabolic risk (p < .05) and the Severe class had marginally higher risk (p < .10). The Severe class did not differ from the Moderate class (p >.10). In Study 2, I found that higher depressive symptoms and lower social resilience factors in adolescence predicted higher adult depressive symptoms for both males and females. In males only, higher school resilience factors predicted lower adult depressive symptoms. In females only, higher adolescent depressive symptoms predicted higher adult cardiometabolic risk. These findings have implications for understanding clinical and policy-related interventions needed for optimal lifelong health.

Copyright Date

6-2025

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Samantha R. Scott

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

88 pgs

File Size

2.2 MB

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