A causal model of adolescent depression

We examined how family strengths, parent-adolescent communication, self-esteem, loneliness, age, and gender interrelate, and how this interaction influences depression in adolescents. The data were collected on a written questionnaire completed by 156 adolescents who were attending public schools in four communities in the midwestern United States. We developed a causal model to explicate the relationships among the variables hypothesized to affect adolescent depression and analyzed the data using path analysis via the LISREL VII program. Results showed a good fit of the model to the data. Loneliness and self-esteem had a direct effect on adolescent depression. Self-esteem had an indirect effect on depression through loneliness. Age directly and indirectly influenced depression through loneliness. Gender was significantly related to depression through self-esteem. Family strengths indirectly affected depression through self-esteem.