Risk Factors for Depression in Pacific Adolescents in New Zealand: A Network Analysis
Date
Authors
Gossage, Lisa
Narayanan, Ajit
Dipnall, Joanna
Iusitini, Leon
Sumich, Alexander
Berk, Michael
Wrapson, Wendy
Tautolo, El-Shadan
Siegert, Richard
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Background: Network analysis provides opportunities to gain a greater understanding of the complex interplay of risk factors for depression and heterogeneous symptom presentations. This study used network analysis to discover risk factors associated with both depression severity and depression symptoms amongst Pacific adolescents in New Zealand. Methods: Mixed graphical models with regularization were fitted to data from a community sample of New Zealand born, Pacific adolescents, (n = 561; 51% male; Mean age (SD) = 17 (0.35)) and associations between a wide range of potentially explanatory variables and depression severity and depression symptoms investigated. The associations identified were then tested for reliability, using resampling techniques and sensitivity analysis. Results: In the networks, the explanatory variables associated with both depression severity and depression symptoms were those related to quality of the relationships with mother or friends, school connectedness, and self-assessed weight, but the symptoms they were associated with varied substantially. In the depression severity networks, impulsivity appeared to be a bridging node connecting depression severity with delinquency and negative peer influence. Limitations: The data were analysed cross-sectionally, so causal inferences about the directions of relationships could not be inferred and most of the data were self-reported. Conclusions: The results illustrate the varied way that adolescent depression can manifest itself in terms of symptoms and suggest specific items on the depression inventory that might be suitable targets for prevention strategies and interventions, based on the risk factor - depression symptom profiles of individuals or groups.Description
Keywords
Adolescent, Depression, Network analysis, Pacific, Risk factors, Symptoms, 3213 Paediatrics, 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 42 Health Sciences, Mental Illness, Behavioral and Social Science, Pediatric, Brain Disorders, Depression, Prevention, Mental Health, Mental health, 3 Good Health and Well Being, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Psychiatry, 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences, 42 Health sciences, 52 Psychology
Source
Journal of Affective Disorders, ISSN: 0165-0327 (Print); 1573-2517 (Online), Elsevier, 311, 373-382. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.076
Publisher's version
Rights statement
This is the Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article in the Journal of Affective Disorders © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. The publisher's version is available at DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.076