Sociocognitive understanding and depressive symptoms in preadolescence: the role of loneliness - MANUSCRIPT IN PREPARATION

A link between sociocognitive understanding and depression is documented in clinical populations (e.g., Lee et al., 2005; Uekermann et al., 2008): high levels of depression appear to be related to sociocognitive deficits. No research has so far investigated this relationship among typically developing preadolescents. The aim of the present research is thus to explore the associations between these two constructs in a large and crucial age range. A sample of 326 students aged 8 to 15 years were administered a sociocognitive understanding task and self-report questionnaires on depressive symptoms and perception of loneliness/social dissatisfaction. Results showed that sociocognitive understanding and depressive symptoms are significantly related. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that the indirect effect of sociocognitive understanding on depressive symptoms through feelings of loneliness is significant only in the girls subsample. Both theoretical and practical implications of the present findings are discussed