Conceptions of relationships in children with depressive and aggressive symptoms: Social-cognitive distortion or reality?

This research tested skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models of depre ssion and aggression in 615 fifth- and sixth-grade children. Children compl eted a measure of their generalized conceptions of relationships in the pee r domain and their level of depressive symptoms. Teachers completed measure s of social competence, social status, and aggression. As anticipated, chil dren with higher levels of depressive symptoms, either alone or in combinat ion with aggression, demonstrated more negative conceptions of both self an d peers than did nonsymptomatic children. Conceptions of relationships did not differentiate between aggressive and nonsymptomatic children. Children with depressive symptoms and children with aggressive symptoms displayed un ique profiles of social competence deficits and problematic status in the p eer group. Analysis of the accuracy of children's conceptions of relationsh ips revealed support for both skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models . Consistent with a skill-deficit model, children with depressive and depre ssive-aggressive symptoms were sensitive to actual differences in their soc ial status. In contrast, aggressive children showed an insensitivity to soc ial cues. Consistent with a cognitive-distortion model, children with depre ssive and depressive-aggressive symptoms had more negative conceptions than would be expected given their social status, whereas aggressive-unpopular children demonstrated a self-enhancement bias. These findings indicate the importance of integrated cognitive-interpersonal models of depression and a ggression that incorporate multiple pathways among social-cognitive, interp ersonal, and emotional functioning.