INTERPERSONAL AND SELF-CRITICAL DYSPHORIA AND BEHAVIORAL-PROBLEMS IN ADOLESCENTS

Clinical evidence suggests that various problem behaviors in adolescen ce can be expressions of dysphoria that have not reached threshold for the diagnosis of depressive disorders. Formulations of two major type s of dysphoria distinguish between disruptions of interpersonal relate dness (e.g, feelings of loss or abandonment) and diminished self-estee m (e.g., feelings of self-criticism, failure, or guilt). Adolescents i n a suburban high school were given the Achenbach Youth Self-Report, t he Adolescent Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, and the Community Epidemiological Survey of Depression for Children (CES-DC). Even after level of depressive symptoms (CES-DC) was partialled out in hi-erarch ical multiple regressions, interpersonal dysphoria significantly accou nted for additional variance in predicting internalizing disorders, wh ile self-critical dysphoria added significantly to the explained varia nce of both internalizing and externalizing disorders, specifically de linquency and aggression in both males and females.