Poster #48 - A Daily Diary Analysis of Preschool Depressive Behaviors: Prospective Associations and Moderators Across 14 Days

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Depressive disorders can be observed in early childhood and are associated with significant impairment (e.g., Bufferd et al., 2011; Luby et al., 2009). Although young children demonstrate similar depressive behaviors to older children and adults, certain depressive behaviors, such as sadness and irritability, are more common in early childhood whereas other depressive behaviors, such as loss of ;pleasure and suicidal ideation, are much less common (Bufferd et al., 2017). However, little is known about day-to-day variations in common depressive behaviors and factors impacting those variations in early childhood. Moreover, the extant literature is mixed regarding the adaptive or maladaptive nature of affective variability in adults and older adolescents (e.g., Gable & Nezlek, 1998; Röcke & Brose, 2013), and it is unknown whether emotion dynamics in young children are adaptive or indicative of depression risk. Examining the variability of common depressive behaviors in early childhood can provide a critical tool for increasing the developmental sensitivity of psychopathology assessments in preschoolers. The current study used a 14-day daily diary to examine the day-to-day variability of sadness and irritability in preschoolers, and predictors (daily sleep quality and parent-child relationship functioning) and moderators (emotional/behavioral problems and impairment) of their day-to-day change.

Participants included 291 parents of preschool-aged children. Parents completed a baseline questionnaire assessing demographics, children’s current symptoms of depression, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder [ODD], and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]), and functional impairment. They then completed an electronic daily diary for 14 days assessing the frequency of daily sadness and irritability, sleep quality, and parent-child relationship functioning. To examine both between-person and within-person predictors of children’s sadness and irritability, we used generalized linear mixed models. Results indicated that better within-person parent-child relationship functioning the prior day, but not sleep quality, predicted decreased irritability the following day (b=-.07, SE=.01, p<.001). Moreover, across 14 days, we observed between-person stability in sadness (b=-.69, SE=.03, p<.001) and irritability (b=.74, SE=.03, p<.001), but within-person variability in sadness (b = -.09, SE = .02, p < .001) and irritability (b=-.09, SE=.02, p< .001). These associations were also moderated by child behavioral/emotional problems and functional impairment. Specifically, we observed greater between-person stability and greater within-person variability in sadness and irritability for preschoolers with fewer depressive symptoms, fewer ODD symptoms, and lower functional impairment (ps<.01).

Although the processes involved in daily emotion dynamics are likely complex, our findings provide initial evidence for affective variability as a potentially adaptive response to one’s environment in early childhood given its links with better psychosocial functioning. This daily analysis aids in overcoming methodological challenges in the assessment of preschool depression, including retrospective reporting or the focus on depressive disorders without consideration of symptom presentation. This investigation is critical to developing psychiatric guidelines for screening young children at-risk for depression and can provide targets for intervention/prevention. Future research must examine these dynamics in a clinical population to further elucidate differences between normative and atypical patterns of sadness and irritability during this developmental period.

Authors

• Katherine A Leppert, University of Maryland, College Park
  Presenting Author

• Sara J Bufferd, California State University - San Marcos
  Non-Presenting Author

• Thomas M Olino, Temple University, Department of Psychology
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lea R Dougherty, University of Maryland, College Park
  Non-Presenting Author