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Gender Differences in Cognitive Schema Vulnerability and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2012

Katrijn Brenning ,
Guy Bosmans ,
Caroline Braet  and
Lotte Theuwis
Katrijn Brenning*
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Belgium
Guy Bosmans
Affiliation:
University of Leuven, Belgium
Caroline Braet
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Belgium
Lotte Theuwis
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Belgium
*
Address for correspondence: Katrijn Brenning, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Katrijn.Brenning@Ugent.be
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Abstract

This study aims to investigate whether gender differences in the prevalence of depressive symptoms, with girls reporting more depressive symptoms than boys, are related to gender differences in cognitive schema vulnerability. A cross-sectional study investigating adolescents from both clinical (N = 110) and non-clinical samples (N = 118) was conducted, using the Young Schema Questionnaire — Short Form (YSQ-SF) as a measure of cognitive schema vulnerability. Results show that adolescent girls tend to score higher on several maladaptive cognitive schemas, and that these schemas tend to be more highly correlated with depressive symptoms compared to adolescent boys. Further, cognitive schema vulnerability mediated the relationship between life-stress and depressive symptoms in girls but not in boys.

Keywords

depressive symptomsgender differencescognitive schema vulnerabilityadolescence
Type
Standard Papers
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 164 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

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