Introduction:

1. The Discrepancy-Depression Association: Gender and Grade DifferencesErin N. Stevens, M. C. Lovejoy, & Laura D. PittmanNorthern Illinois University Introduction: Method: Measures Simple Slopes Analyses: • Although boys and girls have similar levels of depression during childhood, rates of depression in girls surpass that in boys with the onset of adolescence (e.g., Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). • Self-discrepancy theory (SDT; Higgins, 1987) represents a framework for understanding how incompatible beliefs about the self induce different types of negative affect, including depressive symptoms. • Among adults, actual-ideal discrepancies are larger for depressed than nondepressed individuals (e.g., Fairbrother & Moretti, 1998; Higgins, Klein, & Strauman, 1985; Scott & O’Hara, 1993; Strauman, 1992; Strauman & Higgins, 1988). However, there is limited research examining the relation of self-discrepancy to depression in children and adolescents. • Developmental considerations: • SDT postulates that cognitive-developmental changes in early adolescence underlie the development of self-discrepancies (Higgins, 1989). • Gender differences in the strength of the association between self-discrepancy and depression may also emerge during adolescence, a time during which depression becomes more prevalent in girls than boys (Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). • The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the variance in depressive symptoms explained by self-discrepancies, beyond that which is accounted for by actual-self ratings (i.e., how positive individuals perceive themselves), and (2) test the developmental postulates of SDT. • Specifically, gender and age were examined as potential moderators in the relationship between actual:ideal discrepancies and depressive symptoms, after controlling for actual-self positivity, in a youth sample. We also examined the three-way interaction between discrepancies, gender, and age. • Child depression: Depressive symptoms were assessed using the short version of the CDI. The CDI short version is a 10-item paper-and-pencil questionnaire that provides a rapid assessment of depressive symptoms (α = .81; Kovacs, 1992). • Self-discrepancies: Discrepancies between actual and ideal selves were measured using an adaptation of the Selves Questionnaire that is traditionally used to measure self-discrepancy in adult samples (e.g., Higgins, 1987). • Ideal-self: participants generated five ‘ideal’ attributes and rated the degree to which they ideally would like to possess each attribute (7-point scale) • Actual-self: participants were provided with a list of their five ideal-self attributes and rated the degree to which they currently possess each • Actual:Ideal discrepancies were calculated by subtracting the score for each actual attribute from the score for the corresponding ideal attribute • Simple slopes analyses revealed that for both 5th and 8th graders, the relationship between discrepancies and depressive symptoms was significantly different from zero, β = .29, p < .01, and β = .60, p < .001 (see Figure 1). • The relationship between discrepancies and depressive symptoms differed as a function of gender, such that for girls, the relationship was significantly different from zero, β = .62, p < .001; for boys, however, the relationship was not significantly different from zero, β = .19, p = .11 (see Figure 2). Results: • Descriptive statistics were calculated (see Table 1), and a hierarchical regression was conducted to examine the moderating role of grade and gender in the relationship between actual:ideal discrepancies and depressive symptoms, after accounting for actual-self ratings(see Table 2). • However, the three-way interaction was non-significant(β = .31, p = .14). Conclusions: • This study allowed for a more fine-grained analysis of how the relationship between self-discrepancies and depressive symptoms changes over the course of development. • Importantly, while there was not a significant three-way interaction, it is likely that the observed pattern of results is primarily driven by the girls in our sample. • For the 5th and 8th grade boys, the relationship between actual:ideal discrepancies and depressive symptoms may be accounted for by actual-self ratings, or how positive they perceive themselves to be. • For girls, however, the findings point to a developmental pattern that suggests that actual:ideal discrepancies become more important to the prediction of depressive symptoms as the girls mature. • Overall the findings demonstrated a difference between males and females in the depression-cognition association that emerged sometime in mid-adolescence and could be related to the heightened risk for depression in girls, compared to boys in this age group. • While age is often a poor proxy for developmental level (Siegler, 1996), recent work suggests cognitive development may play an important role in the links between self-discrepancies and negative emotions (Stevens et al., 2013). • It may be that there is a necessary level of cognitive maturity needed in order for self-discrepancies to be related to depressive symptoms. Method: Participants and Procedure • Fifth and eighth grade students (N = 220) were recruited from Illinois and Iowa elementary and middle schools • Exclusions: improper administration of the measures (n = 16), incomplete data sets (i.e., not present for Time 2; n = 9), more than two excluded attributes (n = 3), • The final sample included 192 youth (5th grade n = 122; 8th grade n = 70). • Ethnicity: 72% percent of the children and adolescents were Caucasian, 15% were Hispanic or Latino, 5% were biracial, 3% were Black or African American, 1% percent were Asian, and 4% chose not to answer this item • 67% of the participants attended a public school; 33% attended a Catholic school • Participants completed questionnaires on two days: • At Time 1, participants completed the ideal-self measure. • Two weeks later, at Time 2, participants completed the actual-self measure and the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992). • The order of the measures for Time 2 were counterbalanced. ∆ Correspondence concerning this poster should be addressed to: Erin N. Stevens, M.A., Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115 estevens@niu.edu