From vulnerability to resilience: Pathways to adolescent depression.
Abstract
Background
Adolescent depression is a significant public health concern shaped by contextual and cultural factors.
Objective
This study examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents in Kosovo and explored associations between early adversity, current stress, coping strategies, and perceived social support.
Method
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2 106 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, using validated self-report measures of depression, early adversity, stress, coping, and perceived social support.
Results
Nearly half of participants (48.3%) reported depressive symptoms, with higher rates among girls. Early adverse experiences within the family-submission, devaluation, and threat-were associated with higher depressive symptoms, with submission emerging as the most prominent correlate. Coping strategies showed differentiated patterns. Specifically, problem-focused coping was associated with lower depressive symptoms. In contrast, avoidant coping and maladaptive aspects of emotion-focused coping were associated with higher symptoms, highlighting variability within emotion-focused processes. Current stress was independently associated with depressive symptoms and amplified associations between early adversity and depression. Perceived social support from family, peers, and significant others showed context-dependent patterns, reflecting both protective and conditional associations across stressors and relational contexts.
Conclusion
These findings underscore the central role of early experiences of submission within the family in adolescent depression and highlight the importance of coping processes, particularly the potentially maladaptive role of certain emotion-focused strategies in resource-constrained contexts. Results support the stress proliferation framework and highlight the need for culturally sensitive, trauma-informed interventions that strengthen problem-focused coping, enhance effective use of social support, and address early-life adversity.