An increase in negative mood and feelings and changes in adrenal steroid function have been found to precede the onset of the first episode of major depression in adolescents.
Girls appraise recent life events as more personally threatening than boys.
181 adolescents at high risk and 65 at low risk for psychopathology were interviewed for recent psychiatric disorder at the start of the study and again 12 months later. It was found that neither hormone was associated with risk status, current mood or cognitive style at entry to the study. In the high-risk group the most frequent risk factor was the occurrence of two or more recent undesirable life events. These were reported significantly more often by girls than boys. Parents of high-risk subjects reported significantly more financial problems.