developmental relations between cognitive vulnerability, life events, and family stress

Depression can emerge at almost any time during the life course, and the causes and consequences of depression are vast. Of the many causes of depression, research on the experience of negative events has surfaced detailing a relationship between the onset of depression, chronic stress, the experience of negative events during child or adolescent development, temperament of the child, and parenting styles. More specifically, the onset of depression has been linked with the occurrence of negative events and a temperament associated with negative withdrawal. Negative or stressful events experienced by an individual who is a member of a family are also experienced by the other members of the family. A recent theoretical reformation of the family stress model (FSM), called the

Interactionist Model (IM), has proposed and incorporated the impacts of economic hardship on child development directly through increased risk of physical and mental health problems and indirectly through the stress experienced by the parents. In this concise review, the IM, the ABC-X model of stress in the family, and a theory on the development of depression are presented. Empirical findings on the impacts of life events on the onset of depression are then presented and interpreted using the IM.

The development of depression before adulthood

There is strong evidence indicating that childhood adversities can initiate depression or amplify its effects (Kessler, 1997). But what constitutes a childhood adversity, how do these adversities create depression, and why does depression persist? A burgeoning literature suggests that when children are exposed to traumatic or stressful events, the success with which they deal with these events depends on their existing temperament and their parents’ reactions to the events (Mezulis, Hyde, & Abramson, 2006). Most importantly, they learn from their parents how