Adolescents' perceptions of peers with depression: an attributional analysis
Louise Dolphin, Eilis Hennessy*
University College Dublin, School of Psychology, Dublin, Ireland
*Corresponding author
Address: School of Psychology, Newman Building, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Telephone Number: +353 1 716 8362
Email Address: eilis.hennessy@ucd.ie
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Abstract
Understanding adolescents' perceptions of peers with depression is vital in order to tackle peer
exclusion and lessen stigmatization. To examine adolescents' perceptions of a hypothetical peer with
depression, we test an attributional model: that stigma towards persons with mental disorders is
influenced by attributions about the causes of their disorders and inferences of personal
responsibility. Participants were 401 adolescents from 4th year/10th grade with an age range of
14.75-17.08 years (M=15.90 years; SD=0.403 years). Structural Equation Modeling was employed to
assess the relationships among causal attributions (personal control), perceived responsibility, and
emotional reactions, in predicting social acceptance/exclusion of a peer with depression. Results
indicated that (a) if the peer with depression is perceived as having little control over the cause of
depression, responsibility is not inferred, participants feel sympathy and pity, and are likely to
socially accept the peer (b) gender of vignette character and participant influence these responses.
This study builds on our theoretical understanding of why adolescents with depression may face
social exclusion from peers by applying a well‐established theory in social psychology. Findings
should be incorporated into the design of interventions aimed at reducing peer exclusion and
stigmatization of adolescents with depression.
Key words: depression; adolescence; peer group; attribution theory; SEM
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1. Introduction
1.1. Adolescent depression and the peer group
Adolescent depression is receiving increasing attention in the psychological literature, which
is unsurprising considering the prevalence rates reported in many studies. Lewinsohn et al. (1998)
estimated that approximately 28% of adolescents will have experienced an episode of Major
Depressive Disorder by the age of 19. Ireland's first comprehensive national study of youth mental
health indicates that 30% of Irish adolescents score outside the normal range for depression (Dooley
and Fitzgerald, 2012). Both studies indicate higher rates of depression for female adolescents.
However, very few studies have investigated the factors that predict the social acceptance
or exclusion of adolescents with depression by their peer group. Social exclusion is linked to
discrimination- a key aspect of the stigmatization process (Link and Phelan, 2001). This lack of focus
is surprising given that research indicates that the peer group can offer some protection from
depressive affect in adolescence (La Greca and Moore Harrison, 2005; Steinhausen and Metzke,
2001). Social exclusion from the peer group (i.e. peer exclusion) can take the form of exclusion from
activities, being ignored, or receiving a lack of attention from peers. This type of peer exclusion is a
significant predictor of emotional distress in adolescence (Kenny et al., 2013). Additionally,
adolescents experiencing symptoms of depression experience decreased acceptance and support
from their peers (Stice et al., 2004) and the reasoning behind this is currently poorly understood.
To understand the factors that predict peer acceptance or exclusion, a strong theoretical
model must be employed. However, research in this area is lacking in theoretically driven studies.
One potentially powerful model which could be employed to address this gap is Attribution Theory
(AT; Weiner, 1985), a well established theory in social psychology.
1.2. Attribution theory
Attribution theory is a theory of social cognition which has been utilized to explain responses
to people with mental disorders (Corrigan et al., 2003; Martin et al., 2000; Weiner et al., 1988). In
essence, AT links the underlying structure of our causal thinking to the dynamics of emotions and
actions (Weiner, 1985).
In its simplest form, AT hypothesizes that people make causal attributions about the
behavior of others, these causal attributions give rise to emotions, and these emotions guide
reactive behavior (Weiner 1985, 1986). A simple example is as follows. If somebody crashes into
your car and you learn that they were texting on their mobile phone, you are likely to perceive the
cause of the crash as controllable, you feel angry, and you react to the other person with annoyance.
On the other hand, if you learn that the person who crashed into your car had a heart attack and lost
control of their vehicle, you are more likely to perceive the cause of the crash as uncontrollable, and
you experience sympathy which is likely to result in you providing assistance.
Weiner (1985, 1986) proposed various dimensions of causal attribution (locus,
controllability, stability), but Anderson and Arnoult (1985) argued that 'personal control' (whether a
cause is perceived by the attributor to be under volitional control) is the most important causal
dimension. Weiner (1988) highlighted that the key aspect of the attribution model is the mediating
role of emotions as determinants of an individual's subsequent behavior (e.g. social
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acceptance/exclusion). In particular, emotions of anger and pity are thought to influence behavior
towards others. Research has provided evidence that the perception of controllability is the main
causal dimension linked with these emotions (Meyer and Mulherin, 1980; Weiner et al., 1982).
Anger is greater in the case of controllable causes, whereas pity is greater when the cause of
behavior is perceived as uncontrollable (Weiner et al., 1982).
Weiner (1993) argued that when reacting to stigmatized individuals, observers/attributors
search for causation, and also judge personal responsibility. Whilst causal controllability is a major
determinant of responsibility, they differ in that controllability is a causal property, whereas
responsibility is an inference or judgment about a person (Weiner, 1993; 1995). Sometimes cause is
located within the person and is controllable, but still responsibility is not inferred e.g. a business
failure due to caring for a sick relative (Weiner, 1995). Therefore, in incorporating responsibility into
AT, Weiner (1993) proposed a sequence whereby personal control predicts inferences of
responsibility, which influences emotional reactions, and these emotional reactions predict
behavior.
1.3. Attribution theory and peer exclusion
Juvonen (1991) showed that sixth grade students rate certain types of "deviant" peers more
negatively than others, depending on the level of responsibility attributed to the behavior. For
example, children perceived bragging and aggressive peers as more responsible for their behavior
and thus they evoked more negative emotions (anger and irritation) than peers who were socially
withdrawn, or had a physical condition. In line with AT, Juvonen concluded that the more a peer
induced positive emotions (sympathy and pity), the more likely children were to support them.
Conversely, the more a peer elicited negative emotions (anger and irritation), the more likely they
were to be excluded. In terms of depression, there is evidence that children rate a depressed peer
with high life stress more positively than a depressed peer with low life stress (Peterson et al., 1985).
In other words, attributing depression to external stress reduces the tendency to act negatively
towards a depressed peer. If attributions of personal control over the cause of a disorder can
influence subsequent behavior, this may have implications for the design and implementation of
anti-stigma interventions.
1.4. Gender differences
Reported rates of depression increase more steeply for girls than boys during adolescence.
Nolen-Hoeksema and Girgus (1994) claim that after the age of 15, girls are about twice as likely to be
depressed as boys, indicating that mid-late adolescence is a key time to investigate gender
differences in adolescent responses to peers with depression.
Research has also highlighted that adolescents have differential attitudes towards male
peers with mental disorders and female peers with mental disorders. In light of AT, recent research
indicates that greater belief in a child’s responsibility for his condition (ADHD or depression) is
associated with lower acceptance for males only (Swords et al., 2011). The authors suggest that
further work is necessary to investigate why attributions of responsibility have a greater influence in
judgments of boys in comparison to girls. Although participants in the Swords et al. (2011) study
responded to both male and female hypothetical peers, the majority of studies examining
perceptions of aggression and withdrawal have used only males as the stimuli (e.g. Juvonen, 1991;
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Peterson et al., 1985; Sigelman and Begley, 1987). This has left gaps in the literature in terms of our
understanding of the effect the vignette character's gender has on responses.
1.5. The present study
We employ a strong theoretical framework by applying a fuller model of AT than has been previously
used, to test adolescents' causal attributions of personal control, inferences of responsibility,
emotional reactions, and peer acceptance of a hypothetical peer presented as clinically depressed.
Our study builds on previous research in several ways.
Much of the mental health literature is based on adolescents' understanding of mental
disorders as general concepts rather than how they understand specific symptoms (e.g. feeling
anxious) which may represent preliminary manifestations of more serious mental health difficulties
(MacLean et al., 2012). Therefore the vignette in this study focuses on specific symptoms of
depression without explicitly labeling it.
Unlike previous research that has explored this issue from an attributional perspective, this
study does not provide participants with information regarding the cause of the depressed behavior;
rather, they will be asked to suggest a possible cause of such behavior. This method of using a freeresponse procedure was deemed as an appropriate research procedure by Weiner (1985). In
addition, McAuley et al. (1992) criticized research in the area of AT for translating participants'
causal attributions into the causal dimensions and therefore committing the fundamental attribution
research error. In other words, previous research assumed that the researcher and participant
perceived causes in the same way (for example, assuming that all people view genetic causes as low
on personal control and environmental causes as higher on personal control). To avoid this, this
study asks participants to explicitly indicate the level of personal control they attribute to their
suggested cause of depression.
Consistent with previous attribution research (Juvonen, 1991; Weiner, 1993; Weiner et al.,
1988), our study hypothesizes that causes of depressive behavior perceived as uncontrollable will
not elicit inferences of responsibility, pity/sympathy will be elicited, and this will result in peer
acceptance. Conversely, when the cause of depressed behavior is perceived as controllable,
inferences of responsibility and the emotion of anger/irritation will be elicited, which will result in
peer exclusion.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Participants were 401 adolescents with an age range of 14.75-17.08 years (M=15.90 years;
SD=0.403 years). The gender distribution of the sample was 53.1% female (n=213) to 46.9% (n=188)
male. Adolescents were recruited from fourth year (students in their 12th year of school). These
adolescents were recruited from ten, non fee paying, single sex secondary schools, selected from
schools with 600+ students on the Irish Department of Education published lists of schools in SouthEast Ireland. Following ethical approval, 23 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland were
contacted. The response rate from schools was 44%. Students were asked to bring information
sheets and consent forms home to their parents and to bring back in the consent form, signed, on
the arranged date of data collection if they wished to participate. The information sheet described
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the research as a study of peer relationships and mental health in adolescence. Only students who
returned signed parental consent forms were included in the study.
2.2. Ethical approval
Ethical approval for this study was granted from the Human Research Ethics CommitteeHumanities of University College Dublin (Research Ethics Reference Number: HS-11-31).
2.3. Materials
2.3.1. Questionnaire
Participants completed a hardcopy questionnaire consisting of their responses to a
vignette/short description of a hypothetical peer with depression.
2.3.2. Vignettes
The vignette (see Appendix A), developed by the author, was based on previous, similar
research, describing an adolescent with symptoms of depression. Half of the sample responded to a
female vignette character and the other half responded to a male vignette character. Symptoms
were based on DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), ICD-10 (WHO; 1992) and
Achenbach’s (1991) Child Behavior Checklist criteria. The vignette was sent to accredited clinical
psychologists (n=5) for validation and suggestions for improvement were given (e.g. "he/she rarely
replies to texts or signs onto Facebook chat or MSN") and incorporated into the final vignette.
Participants were asked to respond to the vignette by completing the measures and items below.
2.3.3. Causal attributions
Participants completed the personal control subscale of The Revised Causal Dimension Scale
(CDSII; McAuley et al., 1992), adapted to refer to third person rather than self attributions (as done
in previous research e.g. Jones and Hastings, 2003). This subscale consists of three items, each rated
on a 9-point scale. Participants wrote down what they thought was the most likely cause of the
behavior described in the vignette and rated this cause in terms of personal control. The original
CDSII scale has good construct validity and internal consistency (McAuley et al., 1992). Previous
research with adults (Jones and Hastings, 2003) indicates that adapting this measure to the third
person does not affect the psychometric properties of the scale. In our study, the internal
consistency of personal control subscale was α=0.74.
2.3.4. Perceived responsibility and emotional reactions
Based on Juvonen's (1991) methodology, participants were asked two items relating to
perceived responsibility and four items about how the hypothetical peer's behavior made them feel.
Two of these items related to positive emotions (sympathy and pity) and two items related to
negative emotions (irritation and anger). Participants answered these six questions on 6-point
scales, and three of the six items were reverse scored.
2.3.5. Peer acceptance
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The Friendship Activity Scale (FAS; Siperstein, 1980) is a 17-item scale, developed to assess a
child or adolescent's desire to engage with a peer in social, academic and general activities. It is
widely used to gauge behavioral intentions, particularly in a school context. Each statement is
followed by a four-point scale to rate whether the participant would engage in the activity with a
peer. Following a pilot study, the original FAS was modified to make the items more developmentally
appropriate for the adolescent sample used in this study. Five items were deleted and minor
wording changes were made to several items (e.g. "play with" was changed to "hang around with").
Therefore, the modified measure consisted of 13 items pertaining to adolescents' acceptance of the
vignette character across a range of activities. Scores ranged from 13 (most negative) to 52 (most
positive). Internal consistency was very good (α=0.83).
2.4. Procedure
Data collection took place during school hours and the questionnaire took approximately 30
minutes to complete. To enhance confidentiality, sections of the questionnaire were randomized;
therefore participants were rarely on the same section as the student next to them. Participants
were asked not to write their name on the questionnaire. Following completion, the researcher
collected and stored the questionnaires and consent forms securely and separately.
3. Results
Structural equation modeling was used to model the relationships between causal
attributions of personal control, responsibility, positive emotions, negative emotions, and peer
acceptance. All statistical analyses were conducted using AMOS version 18.
3.1. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses
The goal of this study was to investigate the relationships among causal attributions of personal
control, responsibility, positive and negative emotions, and peer acceptance of a vignette character
presented as depressed, and to test whether adolescents respond differently to male and female
vignette characters. Table 1 presents means, standard deviations, and factor loadings for each of
these items. Measured variables which did not load significantly onto their respective latent
variables were not retained. Therefore, one responsibility item was removed from both models and
one anger item was removed from the female vignette model.
INSERT TABLE 1
The model was defined a priori (see Figure 1). Two models were tested, splitting the sample based
on the gender of the vignette character they responded to. All reported statistics reflect within
model observations.
INSERT FIGURE 1
Decisions regarding model fit were based on the root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA) with a 90% confidence interval, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and the Incremental Fit
Index (IFI). Though there has been much debate around the appropriateness of looking to chi-square
results, chi-square is deemed to be acceptable if the ratio of the chi-square to the degrees of
freedom is between two and five (Bollen and Long, 1993). Model fit was determined based on the
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criteria that RMSEA between 0.05 and 0.08 indicates acceptable fit, and IFI and CFI above 0.90
indicate acceptable fit (Browne and Cudeck, 1993).
Model A (male vignette character; see Figure 2) indicated relatively good fit. Whilst the CFI
(0.742) and IFI (0.757) were below the recommended fit of 0.90, the RMSEA of 0.073 indicated that
the model fitted the data well and the ratio of chi square to degrees of freedom was 2.04, which
indicated acceptable fit. Model B (female vignette character; see Figure 3) also fitted the data well,
yielding a CFI of 0.810, IFI of 0.818, RMSEA or 0.074, and chi square to degrees of freedom ratio of
2.09.
In model A (male vignette character; see Figure 2), all hypothesized relationships and
regression pathways predicted by attribution theory were significant with the exception of negative
emotions/peer acceptance. Attributions of personal control over the cause of the depressed
behavior, positively predicted inferences of responsibility (β=0.40, p < 0.001). In turn, inferences of
responsibility positively predicted negative emotions of anger (β = 0.31, p < 0.05), and negatively
predicted positive emotions of sympathy (β=-0.28, p < 0.05). Finally, positive emotions predicted
social acceptance (β=0.50, p < 0.01). Participant gender significantly impacted on attributions of
personal control, with males attributing more personal control over the cause of depression than
females within this model (β=-0.20, p < 0.05).
INSERT FIGURE 2
In model B (female vignette character; see Figure 3), personal control over the cause of
depressed behavior positively predicted inferences of responsibility (β=0.49, p < 0.001). While
responsibility negatively predicted emotions of sympathy (β=-0.23, p < 0.05), a significant
relationship was not observed between responsibility and anger. Anger did not significantly predict
peer acceptance, but positive emotions positively predicted peer acceptance (β=0.43, p < 0.01). In
terms of participant gender within this model, females showed greater acceptance of a female
vignette character than males (β=0.20, p < 0.05).
INSERT FIGURE 3
4. Discussion
4.1. Summary findings
This study employed Structural Equation Modeling to test the pathways predicted by
attribution theory (AT; Weiner, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1995) separately for male and female adolescents
with depression. Our findings suggest that peer acceptance of both male and female adolescents
with depression is predicted by pathways whereby cause of depression is perceived as
uncontrollable, responsibility is not inferred, and sympathy/pity is felt by the participant. These
findings are consistent with the theoretical framework of AT.
Relationships among other variables vary as a function of the gender of the adolescent with
depression, and the participant's gender. All but one theoretical pathway is significant when
participants respond to a male vignette character with depression. Alongside the above findings, the
male character elicited responses whereby inferences of responsibility predict emotions of
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anger/irritation. However, these emotions do not predict peer exclusion. In terms of participant
gender, males view other males as having more personal control over the cause of depression.
On the other hand, the theoretical pathway between responsibility and anger is not
significant when the peer with depression is female. Additionally, a significant pathway between
anger/irritation and peer exclusion was not observed. In terms of participant gender, female gender
predicted social acceptance of a female peer with depression.
4.2. Theoretical implications
In line with previous research with children (Juvonen, 1991), we found the mediating role of
emotions in an attributional model (Schmidt and Weiner, 1988) to be important, with the link
between responsibility and anger playing a more significant role in adolescent responses to male
peers with depression than to female peers.
Contrary to the tenets of AT, neither of the models tested found a significant relationship
between anger/irritation emotions and peer exclusion. However, this has been the case in previous
research; Juvonen (1991) found that children's negative emotions did not predict willingness to
provide social support for a hypothetical peer. This could mean one of two things. On one hand
adolescents could feel angry towards depressed behavior in a peer but do not let this anger
influence their acceptance/exclusion of the peer. On the other hand, the absence of the negative
emotion/peer exclusion link could be explained by social desirability; i.e. an adolescent may feel
angry or irritated by depressed behavior in a male peer but will not admit that they would act out or
socially exclude the peer based on this anger.
This study builds on previous research by using a free-response procedure regarding the
cause of the depressed behavior, and, by asking participants to explicitly rate the level of personal
control they attribute to that cause, avoiding the fundamental attribution research error (see
Section 1.5). To our knowledge, such a rigorous theoretical assessment of AT has not been
previously conducted to understand adolescents' causal thinking about depression in peers.
4.3. Practical implications
Based on the assumptions of AT, some theorists have suggested that encouraging people to
attribute mental disorder to the medical basis of the condition will reduce stigmatizing reactions
toward people with mental disorders (see Corrigan and Watson, 2004; Hinshaw and Stier, 2008).
While such interventions assume that a medical cause will reduce perceptions of personal control, it
overlooks environmental causes which can be perceived as low on personal control. In addition, the
findings of a recent meta-analysis (Kvaale et al., 2013) indicate mixed consequences for the
medicalization of mental disorders. They found that people who hold biogenetic explanations for
mental disorders tend to blame affected persons less for their problems, but desire more distance
from them. Therefore our research would indicate that educational interventions should seek to
teach adolescents about the known causes of different disorders and, as Weiner et al. (1988)
suggest, highlight the array of determinants (both genetic and environmental) of the onset of
stigmatized disorders. Rather than emphasizing genetic causes for depression, interventions should
be informed by the latest research on known causes.
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Our findings indicate that when a cause is perceived as low on personal control,
responsibility is not inferred, sympathy is felt, and this has a positive effect on social acceptance.
Dowey et al. (2007) found that a one-day training workshop can change care staff's causal thinking
about challenging behaviors in individuals with intellectual disabilities. It is possible that a brief
intervention could change adolescent causal attributions about depressed behavior in peers, with
the aim of reducing perceptions of personal control. However, Weiner et al. (1988) suggested that
perceptions of controllability of the onset of mental-behavioral stigmas can be altered in the
direction of uncontrollability. While this produces more positive emotions and behavioral reactions,
it also causes a dilemma. On one hand it seems necessary for individuals to accept responsibility for
their behavior (it promotes personal change and is the basis for many psychotherapies). On the
other hand, altruistic actions from others are augmented by perceptions of uncontrollability (Weiner
et al., 1988). A further concern is that if interventions describe disorders like depression as having
uncontrollable components, it may lower the expectation of recovery (Corrigan and Watson, 2004;
Weiner et al., 1988) and have negative consequences such as discouraging those close to individuals
with depression from suggesting self-initiated actions towards recovery.
In addition, our findings highlight the significance of gender when considering the stigma of
depression during adolescence. Both the gender of the individual with depression and the gender of
the peer responding to that individual emerged as significant variables in our research. Specifically
we found that adolescents feel anger toward a male peer who is deemed responsible for his
depression, females are more likely to socially accept a female peer with depression, and males are
more likely to perceive other males as having control over the onset of depression. Thus, it may be
necessary to design educational interventions that directly address the issue of gender from both
perspectives.
4.4. Limitations
Though use of vignettes is common in this line of research (Swords et al., 2011; Peterson et
al., 1985), their ecological validity has been called into question. Research indicates that attributional
responses between vignettes and real life situations differ (Lucas et al., 2009). Though some
researchers have explored attitudes and reactions towards actual classmates (Juvonen, 1991) rather
than hypothetical vignette characters, this produces an ethical dilemma when researching attitudes
towards adolescents with depression. In addition, we used explicit self-report measures of causal
attributions, peer acceptance etc. Implicit measures may be valuable for tapping into adolescents'
responses, and may be more resistant to desirability (for a critical discussion of this, see Gawronski
et al., 2007). In terms of gender, O'Driscoll et al. (2012) found that adolescent males hold stronger
negative implicit evaluations of depression compared to their female counterparts, indicating that
male adolescents are motivated to inhibit their explicit negative evaluations of depression.
Regarding analysis, our study did not take into account the possibility of bidirectional
relations, the analysis was restricted in line with Weiner's (1993) linkages proceeding from thinking
to feeling to acting. Additionally, as models were tested using cross-sectional data, caution must be
exerted in inferring causality from these findings. Finally, as this study focused specifically on
responses to depression, these results are not generalizable to other mental disorders in
adolescence.
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4.5. Future research
Future research should further examine gender differences in responses to adolescents with
depression, and should consider applying different methods (e.g. use of implicit measures). As
depression is more common in females during adolescence (Dooley et al., 2012; Nolen-Hoeksema et
al., 1994; Hankin et al., 1998), it is possible that responses to females with depression are more
heavily influenced by familiarity with depressive symptoms. For example, recent research on
depression stigma among young people (15-25 year olds) indicated that contact with mental
disorders in family or friends is linked to lower levels of stigma and lower desire for social distance
(Yap et al., 2013). Future research in this area should account for adolescent familiarity with
depression. Qualitative studies addressing this issue would be advantageous to provide insight into
how adolescents' perceive symptoms of depression in their peers. On a practical level, future
educational interventions aimed at tackling stigmatizing or negative reactions to peers displaying
symptoms of depression, could apply certain aspects of AT in their design but, as aforementioned,
must exert caution when doing so.
4.6. Conclusion
This study furthers our understanding of how teenagers evaluate and react to the behavior
of a peer with depression. Key findings indicate that peer group acceptance of an adolescent with
depression is predicted by low attributions of personal control, low inferences of responsibility, and
emotional reactions of sympathy/pity rather than anger/irritation. When responding to a male peer
with depression, male participants perceive them as having more personal control over the causes of
their behavior than female participants. When responding to a female peer with depression, female
participants are more likely to socially include them than their male counterparts. The findings of
this study build on our theoretical understanding of why adolescents with depression may face social
exclusion from peers, and should be incorporated into interventional efforts aimed at reducing peer
exclusion and stigmatization of adolescents with depression.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the adolescents who participated in this study, their parents who gave permission for their
participation and the schools who provided the time and space to facilitate the collection of data.
12
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Appendices
Appendix A: Vignettes of male and female adolescent with symptoms of depression
Male vignette
Neil is the same age as you. He used to enjoy playing sports and hanging around with his friends
after school. However, recently he has stopped going to training and doesn’t come out much in the
evenings, saying he is too tired and spending most of his time in his room. He rarely replies to texts
or signs onto Facebook chat or MSN. He often seems irritated and distracted in school. He used to
get good marks but is falling behind in schoolwork and finds it hard to concentrate and pay attention
in class. When his teachers asked him about this he says he can’t be bothered about schoolwork
anymore and doesn’t see the point in trying to improve. His friends have noticed he doesn’t eat
much at break time and has lost weight. They also feel he is not himself and it’s hard to get a laugh
out of him anymore. Sometimes while talking to people his eyes water and he seems like he might
cry for no reason but he says he has hay-fever to cover up how he feels. He looks very tired and
doesn’t care about his appearance anymore. Neil spends a lot of time thinking about the things he
cannot do and feels an overwhelming sadness that makes everything not worth bothering with. He
often feels that his life is not worth living anymore. He looks back on his old life as if it belongs to
someone else and, even when he is around his friends, feels very lonely.
Female vignette
Kate is the same age as you. She used to enjoy playing sports and hanging around with her friends
after school. However, recently she has stopped going to training and doesn’t come out much in the
evenings, saying she is too tired and spending most of her time in her room. She rarely replies to
texts or signs onto Facebook chat or MSN. She often seems irritated and distracted in school. She
used to get good marks but is falling behind in schoolwork and finds it hard to concentrate and pay
attention in class. When her teachers asked her about this she says she can’t be bothered about
schoolwork anymore and doesn’t see the point in trying to improve. Her friends have noticed she
doesn’t eat much at break time and has lost weight. They also feel she is not herself and it’s hard to
get a laugh out of her anymore. Sometimes while talking to people her eyes water and she seems
like she might cry for no reason but she says she has hay-fever to cover up how she feels. She looks
very tired and has stopped wearing makeup. Kate spends a lot of time thinking about the things she
cannot do and feels an overwhelming sadness that makes everything not worth bothering with. She
often feels that her life is not worth living anymore. She looks back on her old life as if it belongs to
someone else and, even when she is around her friends, feels very lonely.
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Table 1: Descriptive statistics for questionnaire items used in SEM model with male vignette
character (n=199; model A) and female vignette character (n=202; model B)
Latent Variable
Measured Variable
Range
Model
M (SD)
Factor loading
Personal Control
y1 CDS-II item 1
1.00-9.00
A
B
4.30 (2.14)
4.32 (2.12)
0.88***
0.79***
y2 CDS-II item 2
1.00-9.00
A
B
5.07 (2.41)
4.92 (2.39)
0.59***
0.68***
y3 CDS-II item 3
1.00-9.00
A
B
6.82 (2.01)
6.99 (2.17)
0.59***
0.66***
y4 Responsibility item
(no factor loading as observed
variable)
y5 Positive emotion item1 (pity)
1.00-6.00
A
B
4.47 (1.40)
4.54 (1.50)
-
1.00-6.00
A
B
4.48 (1.32)
4.43 (1.42)
0.46***
0.33*
y6 Positive emotion item 2
(sympathy)
1.00-6.00
A
B
4.74 (1.12)
4.44 (1.46)
0.61***
0.80*
y7 Negative emotion item 1
(anger)
1.00-6.00
A
B
2.55 (1.39)
2.74 (1.43)
0.58*
-
y8 Negative emotion item 2
(irritation)
1.00-6.00
A
B
3.16 (1.51)
3.05 (1.60)
0.50***
-
y9 FAS Question 1
1.00-4.00
A
B
2.73 (0.71)
2.71 (0.79)
0.48***
0.69***
y10 FAS Question 2
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.59 (0.66)
3.61 (0.66)
0.39***
0.40***
y11 FAS Question 3
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.40 (0.63)
3.45 (0.67)
0.55***
0.58***
y12 FAS Question 4
1.00-4.00
A
B
2.36 (0.76)
2.46 (0.89)
0.51***
0.65***
y13 FAS Question 5
1.00-4.00
A
B
2.94 (0.73)
2.92 (0.80)
0.52***
0.63***
y14 FAS Question 6
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.79 (0.48)
3.81 (0.45)
0.53***
0.43***
y15 FAS Question 7
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.33 (0.86)
3.49(0.76)
0.45***
0.42***
y16 FAS Question 8
1.00-4.00
A
B
2.84(0.79)
2.74 (0.85)
0.66***
0.70***
y17 FAS Question 9
1.00-4.00
A
B
2.51(0.87)
2.51(0.94)
0.31***
0.53***
y18 FAS Question 10
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.39(0.61)
3.38(0.71)
0.46***
0.40***
y19 FAS Question 11
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.44(0.67)
3.57(0.65)
0.35***
0.52***
y20 FAS Question 12
1.00-4.00
A
B
3.36(0.67)
3.42(0.74)
0.52***
0.68***
y21 FAS Question 13
1.00-4.00
A
B
2.78(0.82)
2.56(0.89)
0.63***
0.62***
Responsibility
Positive emotions
Negative emotions
Behavioural
Intentions
*p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. *** p < 0.001. (ns) = not significant
17
y9
Participant
Gender*
y5
y10
y6
y11
y1
y2
y12
Positive
Emotions
y3
y13
y14
Personal
Control
Peer
Acceptance
Responsibility
(y4)
y15
y16
Negative
Emotions
y17
y18
y19
y7
y8
y20
y21
Figure 1: Path diagrams of the direct and indirect relationships between factors predicting
adolescents' behavioural intentions towards a peer with depression. Latent variables are
represented as ovals, and measured items/observed variables (y1-y21) are represented as
rectangles. The measurement error of each item has been omitted to lessen complexity. Arrows
connecting the latent variables and the items that comprise them are factor loadings. Single headed
arrows between variables are regression pathways. *Participant Gender was coded 1 for male
participants and 2 for female participants. Therefore positive values between participant gender and
another variable, indicates a relationship with female gender and negative values indicate a
relationship with male gender.
18
0.17
Participant
Gender
0.13
Positive
Emotions
-0.03
-0.20*
0.50**
-0.28*
Personal
Personal
Control
Control
Peer
Acceptance
Responsibility
0.40***
0.31*
0.17
Negative
Emotions
0.02
Figure 2: Standardised solutions for model A; male vignette character (n=199). *=p < 0.05, **=p <
0.01, ***=p < 0.001
19
0.20*
Participant
Gender
0.22
Positive
Emotions
0.03
0.43**
-0.09
-0.23*
Personal
Personal
Control
Control
Peer
Acceptance
Responsibility
0.49***
0.09
0.02
Negative
Emotions
0.01
Figure 3: Standardised solutions for model B; female vignette character (n=202). *=p < 0.05, **=p <
0.01, ***=p < 0.001
20