ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE AND DEPRESSION IN PREGNANT TEENAGERS

Objective: Study 1 evaluated whether pregnancy is a stressful life eve nt for teenagers and is associated with depression for teenagers with a pessimistic attributional style but not for those with an optimistic attributional style. Study 2 replicated unexpected findings from stud y 1. Study 3 evaluated whether pregnant teenagers with a pessimistic a ttributional style will be more depressed after childbirth than optimi stic pregnant teenagers. Method: In study 1, 122 pregnant and 96 nonpr egnant teenagers completed questionnaires assessing depression and att ributional style. In study 2, 43 pregnant teenagers and 49 nonpregnant teenagers completed the same questionnaires. In study 3, subjects fro m studies 1 and 2 were contacted by mail and asked to complete the sam e questionnaires; 63 (38%) did so. Results: In studies 1 and 2, pregna nt teenagers with a pessimistic attributional style were less depresse d than those with an optimistic attributional style and the nonpregnan t group. In study 3, pessimistic teenagers experienced a higher level of depression than nonpessimistic adolescents following childbirth. Co nclusions: Pregnancy may serve to protect pessimistic teenagers from e xperiencing depression. The subsequent demands of motherhood may remov e any protection from depression afforded by the pregnancy. The experi ence of depression being relieved by another pregnancy may be a previo usly unidentified risk factor for repeated pregnancies in teenagers.