Perceived social competence, negative social interactions, and negative cognitive style predict depressive symptoms during adolescence.

The current study examined whether negative interactions with parents and peers would mediate the longitudinal association between perceived social competence and depressive symptoms and whether a negative cognitive style would moderate the longitudinal association between negative interactions with parents and increases in depressive symptoms. Youth (N = 350; 6th-10th graders) completed self-report measures of perceived social competence, negative interactions with parents and peers, negative cognitive style, and depressive symptoms at three time points. Results indicated that the relationship between perceived social competence and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by negative interactions with parents but not peers. Further, baseline negative cognitive style interacted with greater negative parent interactions to predict later depressive symptoms.