Predicting depression across multiple domains in a 12 year longitudinal investigation of a population sample of children and adolescents.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the strength and relative importance of multiple predictors of depression in adolescence and young adults aged 16 to 20 years. Data for this study were drawn from Statistics Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Hierarchical regressions were conducted separately by gender in a mixed sample containing biological mothers and other caregivers and in a sample containing exclusively biological mother-child dyads. In both samples, age predicted depression with adolescents reporting more depression symptoms compared to young adults. Girls reported higher depression scores than boys. Anxiety/depression and lower self-esteem predicted depression for boys. Girls' depression was predicted by loss of a parent, higher anxiety/depression, and higher aggression. The biological mother-child sample revealed a stronger effect of maternal depression as a predictor of depression for girls. Lower parental monitoring predicted depression for girls and parental rejection predicted depression for boys and girls. --Leaf ii.