Hidden link between depression and social behaviour in teenage girls

Video Abstract from Assistant Professor Leehyun Yoon on the JCPP paper 'Within-person longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and interpersonal problems in adolescent girls'. Authors: Leehyun Yoon, Kelsey E. Magee, Stephanie D. Stepp, Erika E. Forbes, Kate E. Keenan, Alison E. Hipwell, Amanda E. Guyer First published: 23 May 2026 https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70171

Depression and difficulties in relating to others are known to co-occur during adolescence, yet most prior research has examined differences between individuals rather than changes within the same person over time. This study followed 543 adolescent girls from the Pittsburgh Girls Study across four annual waves (mean ages 16.5–19.3 years), using random intercept cross-lagged panel models to separate stable individual traits from intraindividual fluctuations.

Results showed that within-person increases in depressive symptoms predicted subsequent increases in overly nurturant and socially avoidant problems, while depressive symptoms and domineering problems predicted one another reciprocally over time. These findings clarify the intraindividual dynamics linking depression to specific interpersonal patterns, and highlight domineering behaviour as a potential early intervention target.

Learning Outcomes 1. Understand the distinction between between-person and within-person associations when studying the link between depressive symptoms and interpersonal problems in adolescent girls.

2. Identify which interpersonal problem domains — specifically domineering, overly nurturant, and socially avoidant tendencies — show longitudinal within-person associations with depressive symptoms over time.

3. Recognise the clinical implications of monitoring intraindividual changes in depressive symptoms as an opportunity to prevent downstream effects on social functioning in adolescence.

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