Affect regulation in depressed and nondepressed children and young adolescents

Abstract

The present study examined children's reported frequency and efficacy of strategies for regulating their negative affect in response to a description of a particular affiliative (fight with a friend) or achievement (loss at a game) situation. The 275 children were in kindergarten through eighth grade; they completed the Children's Depression Inventory and either the “Fight” or “Game” version of the Child Affect Questionnaire (CAQ-F or CAQ-G). Children who endorsed higher levels of depressive symptoms generally reported using affect regulation strategies significantly less often than did nondepressed children, and they rated these responses as significantly less effective in altering their negative mood. Depressed girls rated mother-initiated affect regulation strategies as less effective than did nondepressed girls. Younger children rated both self- and mother-initiated strategies as more effective than did older children. Several directions for future research are suggested.