Understanding the Constellation of Adolescent Emotional Clarity and Cognitive Response Styles when Predicting Depression: A Latent Class Analysis

Adolescence is a period of human development associated with increased emotional intensity and heightened vulnerability to developing psychopathology. This study used Latent Class Analysis to identify subgroups of youth based on emotional clarity and cognitive response styles. Participants were 436 adolescents (51.8% female; 48.2% African-American/Black, 47.4% Caucasian/White) who completed measures of emotional clarity, cognitive response styles, and depression at baseline ( M = 13.02 years, SD = .83), and at a 1-year and 4-year follow-up. Four classes were identified and used to predict depression outcomes. Overall, youth with above average emotional clarity who reported using a variety of adaptive cognitive response styles also had the lowest level of depressive symptoms at baseline. Class membership did not predict depressive symptoms at any follow-up. The results suggest that the unique profiles based on youth reported levels of emotional clarity and use of problem solving, distraction, and rumination, may not be more predictive of depression outcomes, beyond earlier assessments of depression or by examining these facets in isolation.