2-156 - Social Comparison and Depression during the Adolescent Years

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Research on the psychosocial correlates of depression during adolescence has often focused on the role of exposure to stressful experiences. It is important to recognize, however, that adolescents are not passive recipients of negative experiences and, instead, are active organizers of information. Thus, links between psychosocial insults and internalized distress will be shaped by the adolescents’ own interpretations. One powerful mechanism through which youths may make sense of personal difficulties, especially during adolescence, is social comparison. Information can be incorporated into self-concept through evaluation of the adolescent’s unique situation relative to peers and the surrounding social environment.

The proposed symposium seeks to extend current perspectives on social comparison by considering three distinct sets of stressors. Paper 1 focuses on academic difficulties in the context of a middle school characterized by high levels of achievement. In this project, poor academic outcomes were most strongly associated with depression for those youths who viewed high achieving peers as admired role models. Paper 2 considers low levels of physical attractiveness as a risk factor for depression. The findings indicate that adolescents assess their appearance and social situation relative to their proximal peer network. Paper 3 examines ethnic/racial discrimination as predictor of internalized distress. The results of this work suggest that adolescents may interpret discriminatory experiences in light of information derived from the ethnic composition of the larger the peer group. Taken together, these three presentations provide compelling evidence that social comparison and related mechanisms moderate associations between diverse challenges and adolescent depression.
 

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• David Schwartz, University of Southern California

Discussant

• Mitchell J Prinstein, Univ of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Individual Presentations

• Disparities between Self-Competence and the Competence of Idealized Peers as a Correlate of Depressive Symptoms - Presenting Author: David Schwartz, University of Southern California; Alexandra L Cram, University of Southern California; Tana Luo, University of Southern California; Luiza Vianna, University of Southern California; Mylien Thi Duong, University of Washington; Daryaneh Badaly, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

• The Problem with Hot Friends: Victimization, Physical Appearance, and Depression - Presenting Author: Robert Faris, Univ of California Davis

• When Does Discrimination Hurt the Most?: The Role of School Ethnic Composition in Discrimination-Depression Links - Presenting Author: Hannah Schacter, University of California, Los Angeles; Jaana Juvonen, Ucla