Emotion development and adolescent depression: An analysis of gender differences.

This project will investigate the differing role of empathy and guilt in the development of depression over time. Consistent with Izard's emotion perspective, it is predicted that these emotions will become more strongly correlated with depression in the post-adolescence compared to the pre-adolescent years. This strengthening of association will be most marked for specific sub-groups (e.g. females compared to males; individuals scoring high on empathy and low on emotion regulation). The expected outcomes will lead to a more sophisticated understanding of the development of depression. They will have significant implications for the development/refinement of preventative/intervention strategies for depression during pre-adolescence.