Association of negative affect and emotional intelligence with depression among uninjured children and children post-traumatic brain injury : applicability of resilience models

Resilience research provides theoretical and practical applications to the study of child psychopathology. The variable-focused approach investigates characteristics of individuals, environments and experiences to understand features associated with good outcomes. Three central constructs to this area are risk factors, associated with poorer outcomes; protective factors, associated with good outcomes and the outcome factor itself. Four models of resilience have been proposed to explore these relationships: the compensatory, risk-protective, challenge and protective-protective models. Childhood depression is associated with emotional and social deficits and identification of risk and protective factors can inform treatment and prevention. Negative affect is a stable characteristic of emotional distress and is a potential risk factor for depression. In contrast, emotional intelligence is a potential protective factor. To date there is no published research investigating these factors utilising resilience models. The aim of the present research was to investigate the applicability of the four models of resilience on depression in non-injured children and in a sample of children post mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is a growing literature indicating that children post-TBI are at an increased risk for depression. An exploratory study also investigated the resilience models in the prediction of depression in children post-TBI utilising parent reports. Study 1 consisted of 82 children aged 8 ‚Äö- 11 years. Correlations indicated negative affect is a risk factor for depression, while emotional clarity and mood repair are protective factors. Support was found for the compensatory and challenge models with partial support for the risk-protective and protective-protective models. Study 2 comprised of 32 children who had sustained a mild TBI 3 ‚Äö- 33 months previously. Negative affect correlated with depression as a risk factor while emotional clarity and mood repair were protective factors. Support was found for the compensatory and risk-protective models with partial support for the challenge and protective-protective models. Study 3 utilised parent reports of the Study 2 children, examining the prediction of depression in children from lability/negativity and emotion regulation. Lability/negativity correlated with depression as a risk factor, while emotion regulation was a protective factor. No support was found for the compensatory, risk-protective or challenge models with partial support for the protective-protective model. Overall, the results indicated negative affect is a risk factor for depression, while emotional intelligence is a protective factor. In non-injured children and children post mild TBI the greatest support was found for the compensatory model.