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Cited by 9Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologyChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentTreatment of Major Depression

Developmental depression in adolescents: a potential sub- type based on neural correlates and comorbidity

Miller, Lisa, Barton, Yakov A.·2015·Journal of Religion and Health
DOI 10.1007/s10943-015-0047-0
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Abstract

Diagnosis of depression has low reliability (kappa = 0.28) due to "covert heterogeneity," making the identification of sub-types a focus of research. Very high rates of moderate or sub-threshold depression among adolescents (35-45 % beyond the 20-25 % with MDD), prompt consideration of a potential sub-type of moderate sub-threshold depression, linked to adolescent development. Previously, developmental depression (DD) has been proposed as sub-type of moderate depression that is a normative developmental process of spiritual individuation, the integration of existential and spiritual experience. DD as a potential sub-type is supported both by clinical observation and by an emerging body of research identifying a common physiology to underlie both depression and spirituality (neurotransmitters, structural MRI and long-term clinical course), as well as research showing a surge of spirituality in adolescence (concomitant with window of risk of depression). We test for unique patterns of comorbidity and neural correlates as support for a sub-type. Based upon existing literature, we propose that DD will be (1) associated with the unique neural correlate of increased volume in the occipital region and (2) co-morbid with symptoms of affected regulation and processing. A sample of 125 adolescents (64 girls and 61 boys; ages 15-19 years) from the larger National Institute of Health Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Study of Normal Brain Development (Evans in Neuroimage 30(1):184-202, 2006) was assessed using the Cloninger Self-Transcendence Scale to examine correlates of sub-threshold mild to moderate symptoms of depression. Findings lend support to the possibility of a DD. Sub-threshold depression was associated with greater volume in the occipital region, as well as comorbidity with symptoms of affected regulation and processing (mania, ADHD, anxiety). By contrast, in adolescents with a low level of transcendence, sub-threshold depression was associated with conduct disorder and heavy substance use, both of which previous research have found to be associated with low levels of personal spirituality.

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  • A greater constellation of factors are implicated in youth despair beyond agency or mastery, including attachment disruptions, hormonal-related coping/emotional dysregulation challenges, and emerging spiritual individuation.

    “Taken together, these modest findings are not surprising, given that a greater constellation of factors are implicated in youth despair beyond agency or mastery, including attachment disruptions (Stoddard et al., 2011), hormonal-related coping/emotional dysregulation challenges (Ho et al., 2022), and emerging spiritual individuation (Miller and Barton, 2015).”

    From A hope intervention for adolescents: a randomized controlled trial delivered by paraprofessionals (2025) · cites this paper as Miller and Barton, 2015

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Authors
Miller, L., & Barton, Y. A.
Affiliations
Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Miller, Lisa
ORCID
Miller, Lisa
Venue
Journal of Religion and Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-04-16
Volume
54
Issue
3
Pages
817-828
ISSN
  • 0022-4197 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-6571
DOI
10.1007/s10943-015-0047-0
OpenAlex
W2077712585
Cited by
9
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
0.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Religion and Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
adolescent depression, subthreshold depression, spirituality, self-transcendence, neural correlates, comorbidities, conduct disorder, substance use, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, mania, adolescent brain development
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Brain, Brain Mapping, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Organ Size, Reproducibility of Results, Comorbidity, Spirituality

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