Developmental Trajectories and Origins of a Core Cognitive Vulnerability to Internalizing Symptoms in Middle Childhood

Abstract

The developmental trajectories and origins of six cognitive vulnerabilities implicated in depression and anxiety among children were examined. A community sample of 7-year-old children and their parents were recruited (N = 302), and follow-up assessments were made at ages 8, 9, and 11. Although the six cognitive vulnerabilities (i.e., negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative style, anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation) were conceptualized as disorder-specific vulnerabilities, a common latent factor accounted for their shared features. This core vulnerability represented a negative repetitive cognitive style pervaded with a sense of uncontrollability and uncertainty. Latent growth analysis revealed that the averaged trajectory was stable over time. Child negative affectivity, socioeconomic status, and negative life events (assessed at age 7) prospectively predicted the core vulnerability intercept factor. These findings provide novel evidence for a transdiagnostic mechanism that bears directly on a developmentally informed model for child internalizing symptoms.