Study of Depression among Adolescents in Relation to Anxiety, Neuroticism, Cognitive Dysfunction, Affective Dysregulations, Hardiness, Optimism and Social Support

The current study expands on the existing literature on depression by taking cognizance of the gaps and limitations in the literature. The study includes both risk and protective factors in the context of depression among adolescents. Nine measures referring to Beck's Depression Inventory, Hopelessness Scale, Automatic Thought Questionnaire, Affective Dysregulation Inventory, IPAT Anxiety Scale Questionnaire, N- Scale of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Social Support Questionnaire, Hardiness Scale and Revised Life Orientation Test were administered to 400 adolescents, in the age range of 18-20 years, and selected from different colleges of Hisar (Haryana). Although regression analysis revealed evidence for three predictors (automatic negative thoughts, affective dysregulation, hopelessness) of depression, automatic negative thoughts emerged to be the most marked predictor, accounting for 34.3 percent out of 43.6 percent variance in depression. Affective dysregulation accounted for 5.5 percent of the variance. Noteworthy, the study has highlighted the target variables in depression among adolescents (late adolescence).