Risk factors for depressive symptoms in late adolescence: A longitudinal community study

In a longitudinal study, following a community sample (N = 386) from age 5, early risk factors for depressive symptomatology at age 18 were examined separately for females and males. For females, predictors included low birthweight and death of a parent; for males, they included emotional dependency and internalizing behavior problems. Depressive symptomatology at age 15 emerged as an important risk factor for both genders. Clinical implications are discussed and areas for further research are proposed.