Risk factors for depressive symptoms in late adolescence: A longitudinal community study

In a longitudinal study, following a community sample (N = 386) from age 5, early risk factors for depressive symptomatology at age 18 were examined s eparately for females and males. For females, predictors included low birth weight and death of a parent; for males, they included emotional dependency and internalizing behavior problems. Depressive symptomatology at age 15 e merged as an important risk factor for both genders. Clinical implications are discussed and areas for further research are proposed.