NCJ Number
182490
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 29 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 61-78
Date Published
2000
Length
18 pages
Annotation
A 6-year longitudinal panel study examined the absolute and relative stability in depressed mood throughout adolescence by reporting data from 538 adolescents in Norway at ages 13, 15, 18, and 19 years.
Abstract
The data came from the Norwegian Longitudinal Health Behavior Study. Data collection began in 1990. The participants were students in 22 urban and rural schools in the county of Hordaland in the western part of Norway. They completed a self-administered questionnaire containing seven statements regarding depressed mood. Females had higher average scores on depressed mood than did males at all ages. In addition, males had no substantial changes in average scores, whereas females had a slight tendency toward a curvilinear trend involving a peak in mid-adolescence. Adolescents tended to retain their relative level in depressed mood, most pronounced for a period of 4 years from ages 15 to 19 years. Moreover, depressed mood was most stable in a subgroup of adolescents who had high initial scores of depressed mood. Structural equation modeling revealed that the stable (trait) component of depressed mood increased in importance with increasing age, while the temporal (state) component decreased with increased age. Figures, tables, appended list of items on the depressed mood scale, and 46 references (Author abstract modified)