The relationship of interpersonal perceptions and depression to evaluations of supportive interactions and interpersonally-oriented coping strategies

This study examined evaluations of supportive interactions and appraisals of interpersonally-oriented coping strategies in a sample of pre- and early adolescents that varied in level of depressive symptomatology. Sixty-nine participants between the ages of eleven and fourteen evaluated the supportiveness and helpfulness of standardized, videotaped interactions between a distressed preadolescent and a maternal figure, and rated the efficacy and frequency of interpersonally-oriented coping behaviors. Participants also completed measures assessing perceptions of past and present relationships, interpersonal expectancies, and cognitive biases. Results indicated that perceptions of childhood maternal care were strongly associated with evaluations of the supportiveness of interactions, perceptions of the efficacy of interpersonal coping, and reports of the frequency of interpersonal coping. Level of depressive symptomatology was associated with perceptions of past and present relationships and interpersonal expectancies, but was not related to evaluations of supportive interactions. Depressive symptomatology was associated with beliefs about the efficacy of interpersonally-oriented coping strategies and reported frequency of using them, though this association was no longer significant when perceptions of childhood maternal care were taken into account. The findings suggest that cognitive-affective representations of previous relationships are more strongly related to perceptions of the supportiveness and helpfulness of others than is depression.