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Behavioral Sciences
Volume 15
Issue 2
10.3390/bs15020145
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Article

Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and Depression Among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Subcomponents of Executive Function

by
Wenli He
1,†,
Qiong Hu
2,†,
Jiejie Wang
1,
Yingbo Rao
3,
Chen Cheng
3,
Ping Fang
1,
Qiong Zhang
2 and
Yunrong Lu
1,*
1
Department of Psychiatry, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, and International School of Medicine, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu 322000, China
2
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
3
Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, and International School of Medicine, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu 322000, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020145
Submission received: 18 November 2024 / Revised: 18 January 2025 / Accepted: 26 January 2025 / Published: 29 January 2025
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Abstract

Stressful life events are important risk factors in the development of adolescent depression. Executive function is significant in the stress–depression link. However, it is not clear whether there is a specific effect for subcomponents of executive function (working memory, inhibition, and shifting). Therefore, the present study recruited 213 adolescents (mean age (Mage) = 15.19 years, SD = 1.27, range = 12.00–18.00 years, and 53.00% girls) and measured their perceived stress using the questionnaire of the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, working memory ability by two-back tasks, inhibition ability by Stroop tasks, and shifting ability by Wisconsin Card-Sorting tasks. Results showed that stressful life events positively correlated with adolescents’ depression, while stressful life events negatively linked with working memory and inhibition. Depression was negatively associated with working memory and inhibition. No significant correlation was found between shifting and either stressful life events or depression. Mediation analyses revealed that working memory and inhibition mediated the link between stressful life events and adolescent depression, while shifting did not show a mediating effect. Our findings provide further evidence for the precise effect of executive function in the stress–depression link, implicating that different subcomponents should be considered to provide targeted intervention to alleviate adolescents’ depressive symptoms.
Keywords: depression; adolescence; stressful life events; executive functions depression; adolescence; stressful life events; executive functions

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MDPI and ACS Style

He, W.; Hu, Q.; Wang, J.; Rao, Y.; Cheng, C.; Fang, P.; Zhang, Q.; Lu, Y. Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and Depression Among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Subcomponents of Executive Function. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 145. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020145

AMA Style

He W, Hu Q, Wang J, Rao Y, Cheng C, Fang P, Zhang Q, Lu Y. Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and Depression Among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Subcomponents of Executive Function. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(2):145. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020145

Chicago/Turabian Style

He, Wenli, Qiong Hu, Jiejie Wang, Yingbo Rao, Chen Cheng, Ping Fang, Qiong Zhang, and Yunrong Lu. 2025. "Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and Depression Among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Subcomponents of Executive Function" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 2: 145. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020145

APA Style

He, W., Hu, Q., Wang, J., Rao, Y., Cheng, C., Fang, P., Zhang, Q., & Lu, Y. (2025). Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and Depression Among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Subcomponents of Executive Function. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 145. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020145

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