Abstract

ANTUNES, Joana; MATOS, Ana Paula  and  COSTA, José Joaquim. Emotional regulation and quality of the relationship with parents as predictors of depressive symptomatology in adolescents. Revista Portuguesa de Enfermagem de Saúde Mental [online]. 2018, n.spe6, pp.52-58. ISSN 1647-2160.  https://doi.org/10.19131/rpesm.0213.

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a time of risk for the development of depressive symptomatology, with emotional regulation and the quality of the relationship with the parents playing an important role in the development of Depression. AIM: To analyze longitudinally the predictive effects of the emotional regulation strategies and the quality of the relationship with the parents in the depressive symptomatology. METHODS: A total of 566 adolescents with 13-17 years old completed questionnaires at two moments of evaluation, with a 6-month interval. RESULTS: After controlling gender effects, emotional regulation strategies and the quality of the relationship with the parents (T1) explained 36% and 21.9% of the variance of the depressive symptomatology (T2), respectively. Self-blame, catastrophizing, and rumination were positive significant predictors, and positive reappraisal and refocus on planning were negative significant predictors. A greater perception of conflict in the relationships with the parents and a lower perception of support in the relationship with the mother predicted higher levels of depressive symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: The results have implications for the prevention and treatment of depression in adolescence, such as addressing the use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies and the existence of conflict in the relationship with parents, and increasing the protective effects associated with adaptive emotional regulation strategies and the perception of positive qualities in the relationships.

Keywords : Depression; Emotions; Family relations; Adolescent.

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