A longitudinal look at the relation between depression and anxiety in children and adolescents.

TLDR

A 3‑year longitudinal study followed 330 elementary students and 228 parents, who completed depression and anxiety questionnaires every six months across six waves. Structural equation modeling showed that while individual differences were stable, high anxiety at one time point predicted subsequent depression even after controlling for prior depression, supporting the hypothesis that anxiety leads to depression in children and adolescents.

Abstract

Elementary school students (n = 330) and their parents (n = 228) participated in a 3-year longitudinal study of the temporal relation between anxiety and depressive symptoms in children. Every 6 months, children and parents completed depression and anxiety questionnaires for a total of 6 waves. Structural equation modeling revealed that individual differences on all measures were remarkably stable over time. Nevertheless, high levels of anxiety symptoms at 1 point in time predicted high levels of depressive symptoms at subsequent points in time even after controlling for prior levels of depression symptoms. These findings were consistent across self- and parent reports. Results support the temporal hypothesis that anxiety leads to depression in children and adolescents.