Emotional Maltreatment, Peer Victimization, and Depressive Versus Anxiety Symptoms During Adolescence: Hopelessness as a Mediator

Extensive comorbidity between depression and anxiety has driven research to identify unique and shared risk factors. This study prospectively examined the specificity of three interpersonal stressors (emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and relationally oriented peer victimization) as predictors of depressive versus anxiety symptoms in a racially diverse community sample of adolescents. We expanded on past research by examining hopelessness as a mediator of the relationships between these interpersonal stressors and symptoms. Participants included 225 adolescents (55% African American; 59% female; M age = 12.84 years) who completed measures at baseline (Time 1) and two follow-up assessments (Times 2 and 3). Symptoms of depression and anxiety (social, physical, total) were assessed at Time 1 and Time 3, whereas intervening emotional maltreatment, peer victimization, and hopelessness were assessed at Time 2. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that emotional abuse was a nonspecific predictor of increases in both depressive symptoms and symptoms of social, physical, and total anxiety, whereas relationally oriented peer victimization predicted depressive symptoms specifically. Emotional neglect did not predict increases in depressive or anxiety symptoms. In addition, hopelessness mediated the relationships between emotional abuse and increases in symptoms of depression and social anxiety. These findings suggest that emotional abuse and relationally oriented peer victimization are interpersonal stressors that are relevant to the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence and that hopelessness may be one mechanism through which emotional abuse contributes to an increased risk of depression and social anxiety.