The Influence of Depressive Symptomatology in Children on the Social Responses and Perceptions of Adults

Abstract

To examine the interpersonal aspects of childhood depression, adult subjects were asked to view one of four films in which a child was portrayed as (either depressed or nondepressed and as having experienced either high or low life stress. Subjects rated their own level of depression, anxiety, and hostility before and after viewing the film, and they made multiple ratings of desire for. Interaction with the child, personal rejection toward the child, attractiveness of the child, her social role functioning, expectations for her future behavior, and her need for therapy. The target child's level of depression influenced almost every rating, with the depressed child being perceived in strikingly negative terms. Overall, stress did not seem to exert a separate influence on subjects' social responses. The current results provide support for Coyne's (1976b) interactional theory of depression as applied to children.