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Cited by 155Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Why do anxious children become depressed teenagers? The role of social evaluative threat and reward processing

Open access
Silk, J. S., Davis, S., McMakin, D. L., Dahl, R. E., Forbes, E. E.·2012·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291712000207PMC PMC3360132
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Abstract

Background: Depression is a leading cause of worldwide disability. Adolescence represents a key developmental window in which rates of this disorder increase markedly. Children with an anxiety disorder show a particular risk of developing depression during adolescence. Method: We present and review evidence for a developmental model that considers the intersection of two vulnerabilities relevant to the trajectory from anxiety to depression: difficulties in response to potential social evaluation and changes in reward processing at puberty. Results: Evidence suggests that these vulnerabilities ( a ) have been associated with depression, ( b ) are likely to be problematic in many, but not all, anxious youth, and ( c ) may be exacerbated by maturational processes that occur around pubertal development in ways that can create a negative spiral into a depressive disorder. Conclusions: We discuss the possibility that early intervention strategies targeting key aspects of these vulnerabilities could alter the trajectory away from depression for many anxious youth.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291712000207

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  • Youth with anxiety disorders experience a heightened sensitivity to social evaluative threat and altered reward processing, which interact during adolescence to influence the onset of depression.

    “Silk et al. (2012) theorized that youth with anxiety disorders experience a heightened sensitivity to social evaluative threat and altered reward processing, which interact during adolescence to influence the onset of depression.”

    From Neural Activation to Parental Praise Interacts With Social Context to Predict Adolescent Depressive Symptoms (2019) · cites this paper as Silk et al., 2012

    In “Child Anxiety and Adolescent Depression,” the paper proposes that altered social-evaluative threat and reward processing may contribute to a pathway from anxiety to adolescent depression; “Conclusions and Implications” also considers how the two may interact. The claim overgeneralizes the proposed vulnerabilities to youth with anxiety disorders as a group: the paper says they are likely present in many, but not all, anxious youth, and that their role needs further study. Page numbers were not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Early social stress is thought to heighten susceptibility to disorder by leading to hyperactivity of the HPA axis and up-regulating proinflammatory immune responses.

    “and is thought to heighten susceptibility to disorder by leading to hyperactivity of the HPA axis [38,39] and up-regulating proinflammatory immune responses [40].”

    From The depressed brain: an evolutionary systems theory (2017) · cites this paper as [40]

  • Clinical manifestations of depression can result from asocial causes that produce neurobiological abnormalities typically associated with dysregulated mood (e.g., proinflammatory immune responses induced by illness and medications).

    “Nevertheless, it should also be recognised that clinical manifestations of depression can result from asocial causes that produce neurobiological abnormalities typically associated with dysregulated mood (e.g., proinflammatory immune responses induced by illness and medications; 40).”

    From The depressed brain: an evolutionary systems theory (2017) · cites this paper as [40]

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Adler PA Adler P Peer Power 1998 New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers University Press
  2. Brown GW Harris TO Stressful life events and illness 1989 New York Guilford Press
  3. Chorpita BF The tripartite model and dimensions of anxiety and depression: An examination of structure in a large school sample Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 2002b 30 177 190 12002397

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Authors
Silk, J. S., Davis, S., McMakin, D. L., Dahl, R. E., & Forbes, E. E.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author
Silk, J. S.
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2012-02-17
Volume
42
Issue
10
Pages
2095-2107
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291712000207
PMC
PMC3360132
OpenAlex
W2132242506
Cited by
155
References
162
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
FWCI
1.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH091327)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
childhood anxiety, adolescent depression, social-evaluative threat, reward processing, pubertal development, developmental model, early intervention
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Anxiety Disorders, Child, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Processes, Reward, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Sex Factors, Social Behavior

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