Premium
Mentalization and depressive symptoms in a clinical sample of adolescents and young adults
Author(s) -
Belvederi Murri Martino,
Ferrigno Gabriella,
Penati Simona,
Muzio Caterina,
Piccinini Giulia,
Innamorati Marco,
Ricci Federica,
Pompili Maurizio,
Amore Mario
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
child and adolescent mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1475-3588
pISSN - 1475-357X
DOI - 10.1111/camh.12195
Subject(s) - mentalization , ctq tree , psychology , beck depression inventory , depression (economics) , mediation , clinical psychology , psychiatry , poison control , medicine , injury prevention , developmental psychology , anxiety , environmental health , domestic violence , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics
Background Increasing evidence supports that mentalization deficits may have a role in the genesis of young age depression; however, few studies examined this issue in clinical populations. Methods Outpatients aged 14–21, suffering from various psychiatric disorders, were assessed using the Mentalization Questionnaire ( MZQ ), the Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ( CTQ ), using data from age‐matched healthy students for comparison. The relationship between CTQ , MZQ , and BDI scores was examined at the cross‐sectional level, including mediation analyses, and longitudinally, in a subsample who underwent a psychotherapy intervention. Results Of 83 subjects, 33 (39.8%) had mentalization levels that were 1 standard deviation below those of comparison subjects. In the whole sample, the levels of mentalization were inversely associated with BDI ( r = −.68, p < .001) and CTQ scores ( r = −.30, p = .006). Moreover, MZQ scores mediated a large part of the effect of childhood trauma on depression (total effect: 10.6, 95% CI : 5.3, 15.9; direct effect: 6.5, 95% CI : 2.1, 10.8; indirect effect: 4.1, 95% CI : 1.5, 7.4). This effect was almost entirely explained by the Affect Regulation subscale. In patients re‐evaluated after four sessions ( n = 37), the decrease in BDI scores correlated with the increase in MZQ scores ( r = .40, p = .02). Conclusions In a juvenile clinical sample, deficits of mentalization abilities were associated with the severity of depression and explained part of the depressogenic effects of childhood trauma.