A Test of the Integration of the Response Styles and Social Support Theories of Depression in Third and Seventh Grade Children

The goal of the current study was to test the integration of the response styles and social support theories of depression in third and seventh grade children. Two hundred and sixty children completed measures assessing response styles (e.g., rumination, distraction, and problem-solving), social support, and depressive symptoms. In line with the response styles theory, third and seventh graders who exhibited a ruminative response style reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than those who did not exhibit such a style. In addition, seventh graders who exhibited a tendency to engage in either distractive or problem-solving responses to depressed mood reported lower levels of depressive symptoms than seventh graders who did not exhibit such tendencies. Last, in line with hypotheses, in seventh graders, (a) the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by social support and (b) the relationship between low social support and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by rumination. In contrast to the theory, however, neither distraction nor problem-solving was related to depressive symptoms in third grade children. In addition, contrary to hypotheses, in third graders, (a) the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms was not mediated by social support and (b) the relationship between low social support and depressive symptoms was not mediated by rumination.