Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-t9bwh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-07T15:47:35.438Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Can friends protect genetically vulnerable children from depression?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2013

Mara Brendgen*
Affiliation:
University of Quebec at Montreal Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center
Frank Vitaro
Affiliation:
Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center University of Montreal
William M. Bukowski
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Ginette Dionne
Affiliation:
Laval University
Richard E. Tremblay
Affiliation:
Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center University of Montreal INSERM U669 University College Dublin
Michel Boivin
Affiliation:
Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center Laval University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Mara Brendgen, Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, C.P. 8888 succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada; E-mail: Brendgen.Mara@uqam.ca.

Abstract

The study examined whether reciprocal friendship quantity or quality can mitigate genetic vulnerability for depression symptoms in children. The sample comprised 168 monozygotic twin pairs and 126 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs assessed in Grade 4 (mean age = 10.04 years). Friendship participation was measured via reciprocal nominations of close friendships within the classroom. Friendship quality was measured through self-reports. Depression symptoms were measured through teacher and peer reports. Genetic vulnerability for depression symptoms was unrelated to friendship participation or the number of reciprocal friends, but it was negatively related to positive friendship quality. In line with gene–environment interaction, genetic risk effects on depression symptoms were mitigated in girls who had at least one close reciprocal friend. In boys, only moderate main effects of genetic vulnerability and friendship participation were found but no interaction between them. However, among boys with at least one reciprocal friend, a greater number of friends was related to fewer depression symptoms whereas no cumulative effect of friendship was found for girls. Finally, positive friendship quality was related to fewer depression symptoms in girls and boys even when controlling for genetic risk. The findings emphasize the importance of teaching social interactional skills that promote high-quality friendship relations to help prevent the development of depression symptoms in children.

Type
Regular Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Adams, R. E., & Laursen, B. (2007). The correlates of conflict: Disagreement is not necessarily detrimental. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 445458.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. C., Williams, S. M., McGee, R., & Silva, P. A. (1987). DSM-III disorders in preadolescent children: Prevalence in a large sample from the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 6976.Google Scholar
Andrieu, N., & Goldstein, A. M. (1998). Epidemiologic and genetic approaches in the study of gene–environment interaction: An overview of available methods. Epidemiologic Reviews, 20, 137147.Google Scholar
Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2010a). Chi-square statistics with multiple imputation: Version 2 (Mplus Version 6. Technical Appendix). Retrieved from http://www.statmodel.com/download/MI7.pdfGoogle Scholar
Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2010b). Multiple imputation with Mplus. Retrieved from http://www.statmodel.com/download/Imputations7.pdfGoogle Scholar
Beck, A. T. (2008). The evolution of the cognitive model of depression and its neurobiological correlates. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 969977.Google Scholar
Benenson, J. F., & Benarroch, D. (1998). Gender differences in responses to friends' hypothetical greater success. Journal of Early Adolescence, 18, 192208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benjet, C., Thompson, R. J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2010). 5-HTTLPR moderates the effect of relational peer victimization on depressive symptoms in adolescent girls. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 51, 173179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berndt, T. J., & Perry, T. B. (1986). Children's perception of friendships as supportive relationships. Developmental Psychology, 22, 640648.Google Scholar
Bolger, K. E., Patterson, C. J., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1998). Peer relationships and self-esteem among children who have been maltreated. Child Development, 69, 11711197.Google Scholar
Brendgen, M., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., Dionne, G., Girard, A., & Pérusse, D. (2008). Gene–environment interactions between peer victimization and child aggression. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 455471.Google Scholar
Brendgen, M., Lamarche, V., Wanner, B., & Vitaro, F. (2010). Links between friendship relations and early adolescents' trajectories of depressed mood. Developmental Psychology, 46, 491501.Google Scholar
Brendgen, M., Markiewicz, D., Doyle, A. B., & Bukowski, W. M. (2001). The relations between friendship quality, ranked-friendship preference, and adolescents' behavior with their friends. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 47, 395415.Google Scholar
Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Turgeon, L., & Poulin, F. (2002). Assessing aggressive and depressed children's social relations with classmates and friends: A matter of perspective. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 609624.Google Scholar
Brendgen, M., Wanner, B., Morin, A. J. S., & Vitaro, F. (2005). Relations with parents and with peers, temperament, and trajectories of depressed mood during early adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 579594.Google Scholar
Bukowski, W. M., Hoza, B., & Boivin, M. (1994). Measuring friendship quality during pre- and early adolescence: The development and psychometric properties of the friendship qualities scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 471484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, D. A., Tram, J. M., Martin, J. M., Hoffman, K. B., Ruiz, M. D., Jacquez, F. M., et al. (2002). Individual differences in the emergence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: A longitudinal investigation of parent and child reports. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 156165.Google Scholar
Crick, N. R., & Nelson, D. A. (2002). Relational and physical victimization within friendships: Nobody told me there'd be friends like these. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 599607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demir, M., & Urberg, K. A. (2004). Friendship and adjustment among adolescents. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88, 6882.Google Scholar
Dunn, V., & Goodyer, I. M. (2006). Longitudinal investigation into childhood and adolescence onset depression: Psychiatric outcome in early adulthood. British Journal of Psychiatry, 188, 216222.Google Scholar
Eder, D., & Hallinan, M. T. (1978). Sex differences in children's friendship. American Sociological Review of General Psychology, 43, 237250.Google Scholar
Erdley, C. A., Nangle, D. W., Newman, J. E., & Carpenter, E. M. (2001). Children's friendship experiences and psychological adjustment: Theory and research. New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development, 91, 524.Google Scholar
Falconer, D. S. (1989). Introduction to quantitative genetics. Essex: Longman Scientific and Technical.Google Scholar
Furman, W. (1996). The measurement of friendship perceptions: Conceptual and methodological issues. In Bukowski, W. M., Newcomb, A. F., & Hartup, W. W. (Eds.), The company they keep (pp. 4165). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21, 10161024.Google Scholar
Garber, J. (2007). Depression in youth: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In Masten, A. S. (Ed.), Multilevel dynamics in developmental psychopathology (Vol. 34, pp. 181242). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ge, X., Lorenz, F. O., Conger, R. D., Elder, G. H. J., & Simons, R. L. (1994). Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 30, 467483.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, H. H. (1991). A zygosity questionnaire for young twins: A research note. Behavior Genetics, 21, 257269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammen, C., & Rudolph, K. D. (1996). Childhood depression. In Mash, E. J. & Barkley, R. A. (Eds.), Child psychopathology (pp. 153195). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2001). Development of gender differences in depression: An elaborated cognitive vulnerability–transactional stress theory. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 773796.Google Scholar
Hankin, B. L., Mermelstein, R., & Roesch, L. (2007). Sex differences in adolescent depression: Stress exposure and reactivity models. Child Development, 78, 279295.Google Scholar
Happonen, M., Pulkkinen, L., Kaprio, J., Van der Meere, J., Viken, R. J., & Rose, R. J. (2002). The heritability of depressive symptoms: Multiple informants and multiple measures. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 43, 471480.Google Scholar
Hartup, W. W. (1996). The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance. Child Development, 67, 113.Google Scholar
Henrich, C. C., Blatt, S. J., Kuperminc, G. P., Zohar, A., & Leadbeater, B. J. (2001). Levels of interpersonal concerns and social functioning in early adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Personality Assessment, 76, 4867.Google Scholar
Hodges, E. V., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., & Bukowski, W. M. (1999). The power of friendship: Protection against an escalating cycle of peer victimization. Developmental Psychology, 35, 94101.Google Scholar
Hodges, E. V. E., Malone, M. J., & Perry, D. G. (1997). Individual risk and social risk as interacting determinants of victimization in the peer group. Developmental Psychology, 33, 10321039.Google Scholar
Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (1999). Personal and interpersonal antecedents and consequences of victimization by peers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 677685.Google Scholar
Jaffee, S. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Dodge, K. A., Rutter, M., Taylor, A., et al. (2005). Nature × Nurture: Genetic vulnerabilities interact with physical maltreatment to promote conduct problems. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 6784.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaufman, J., Yang, B.-Z., Douglas-Palumberi, H., Grasso, D., Lipschitz, D., Houshyar, S., et al. (2006). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor–5-HHTLPR gene interactions and environmental modifiers of depression in children. Biological Psychiatry, 59, 673680.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J., Yang, B.-Z., Douglas-Palumberi, H., Houshyar, S., Lipschitz, D., Krystal, J. H., et al. (2004). Social supports and serotonin transporter gene moderate depression in maltreated children. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 1731617321.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1990). Childhood depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 121160.Google Scholar
Kendall, P. C., Cantwell, D. P., & Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Depression in children and adolescents: Assessment issues and recommendations. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13, 109146.Google Scholar
Kingery, J. N., & Erdley, C. A. (2007). Peer experiences as predictors of adjustment across the middle school transition. Education & Treatment of Children, 30, 7388.Google Scholar
Koch, H. (1966). Twins and twin relations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Ladd, G. W. (1990). Having friends, keeping friends, making friends, and being liked by peers in the classroom: Predictors of children's early school adjustment? Child Development, 61, 10811100.Google Scholar
La Greca, A. M., & Harrison, H. M. (2005). Adolescent peer relations, friendships, and romantic relationships: Do they predict social anxiety and depression? Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 4961.Google Scholar
Lau, J. Y. F., & Eley, T. C. (2008). New behavioral genetic approaches to depression in childhood and adolescence. In Abela, J. R. Z. & Hankin, B. L. (Eds.), Handbook of depression in children and adolescents (pp. 124148). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Moffitt, T. E. (2005). The new look of behavioral genetics in developmental psychopathology: Gene–environment interplay in antisocial behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 533554.Google Scholar
Moilanen, I. (1999). Are twins' behavioural/emotional problems different from singletons'? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 8, 6267.Google Scholar
Mrug, S., Hoza, B., & Bukowski, W. M. (2004). Choosing or being chosen by aggressive–disruptive peers: Do they contribute to children's externalizing and internalizing problems? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 5365.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2004). Mplus user's guide (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2010). Mplus user's guide (6th ed.). Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Nangle, D. W., Erdley, C. A., Newman, J. E., Mason, C. A., & Carpenter, E. M. (2003). Popularity, friendship quantity, and friendship quality: Interactive influences on children's loneliness and depression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 546555.Google Scholar
Neale, M. C., & Cardon, L. R. (1992). Methodology for genetic studies of twins and families. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Offord, D. R., Boyle, M. H., & Racine, Y. (1989). Ontario Child Health Study: Correlates of disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 856860.Google Scholar
Oldenburg, C. M., & Kerns, K. A. (1997). Associations between peer relationships and depressive symptoms: Testing moderator effects of gender and age. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17, 319337.Google Scholar
Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Developmental Psychology, 29, 611621.Google Scholar
Parker, J. G., & Seal, J. (1996). Forming, losing, renewing, and replacing friendships: Applying temporal parameters to the assessment of children's friendship experiences. Child Development, 67, 22482268.Google Scholar
Perry, D. G., Kusel, S. J., & Perry, L. C. (1988). Victims of peer aggression. Developmental Psychology, 24, 807814.Google Scholar
Pike, A., & Plomin, R. (1997). A behavioral genetic perspective on close relationships. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 21, 647667.Google Scholar
Prinstein, M. J. (2007). Moderators of peer contagion: A longitudinal examination of depression socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 159170.Google Scholar
Prinstein, M. J., Cheah, C. S. L., Borelli, J. L., Simon, V. A., & Aikins, J. W. (2005). Adolescent girls' interpersonal vulnerability to depressive symptoms: A longitudinal examination of reassurance-seeking and peer relationships. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 676688.Google Scholar
Reynolds, W. M., Anderson, G., & Bartell, N. (1985). Measuring depression in children: A multimethod assessment investigation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 13, 513526.Google Scholar
Rice, F. (2009). The genetics of depression in childhood and adolescence. Current Psychiatry Reports, 11, 167173.Google Scholar
Rice, F., Harold, G. T., & Thapar, A. (2003). Negative life events as an account of age-related differences in the genetic aetiology of depression in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 977987.Google Scholar
Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 98131.Google Scholar
Rudolph, K. D. (2002). Gender differences in emotional responses to interpersonal stress during adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30(Suppl. 1), 313.Google Scholar
Rudolph, K. D., Ladd, G. W., & Dinella, L. (2007). Gender differences in the interpersonal consequences of early-onset depressive symptoms. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 53, 461488.Google Scholar
Scarr, S., & McCartney, K. (1983). How people make their own environments: A theory of genotype– environment effects. Child Development, 54, 424435.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. E., & Bagwell, C. L. (2007). The protective role of friendships in overtly and relationally victimized boys and girls. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 53, 439460.Google Scholar
Scourfield, J., Rice, F., Thapar, A., Harold, G. T., Martin, N., & McGuffin, P. (2003). Depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: Changing aetiological influences with development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 44, 968976.Google Scholar
Shanahan, M., & Hofer, S. (2005). Social context in gene–environment interactions: Retrospect and prospect. Journal of Gerontology, 60B, 6576.Google Scholar
Silberg, J., Rutter, M., Neale, M., & Eaves, L. (2001). Genetic moderation of environmental risk for depression and anxiety in adolescent girls. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 116121.Google Scholar
Simon, V. A., Aikins, J. W., & Prinstein, M. J. (2008). Romantic partner selection and socialization during early adolescence. Child Development, 79, 16761692.Google Scholar
Sullivan, H. S. (1953). An interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Sund, A. M., Larsson, B., & Wichstrom, L. (2003). Psychosocial correlates of depressive symptoms among 12–14-year-old norwegian adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 588597.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. E. (2007). Social support. In Friedman, H. S. & Silver, R. C. (Eds.), Foundations of health psychology (pp. 145171). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Thorpe, K. (2003). Twins and friendship. Twin Research, 6, 532535.Google Scholar
Wichers, M., Schrijvers, D., Geschwind, N., Jacobs, N., Myin-Germeys, I., Thiery, E., et al. (2009). Mechanisms of gene–environment interactions in depression: Evidence that genes potentiate multiple sources of adversity. Psychological Medicine, 39, 10771086.Google Scholar