Recall bias during adolescence: Gender differences and associations with depressive symptoms

Background: There is a sharp increase in depression in females in mid-adolescence, but we do not understand why. Cognitive theories suggest that people with depression have negative biases in recalling self-referential information. We tested whether recall biases were more negative in girls in early and mid-adolescence and were associated with depressive symptoms.

Methods: 315 young and 263 mid-adolescents (11-12 and 13-15 years) completed a surprise test, assessing recall of social evaluation about the self (self-referential) or another person (other-referential). The short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire measured depressive symptoms. We tested the effects of condition (self-referential/other-referential), valence (positive/negative), gender, and age group on correct recall (hits) and associations with depressive symptoms.

Results: There was no evidence for gender or age differences in positive or negative self-referential recall. Self-referential positive hits were negatively associated with depressive symptoms (adjusted coefficient=-0.38, 95% CI=-0.69-0.08, p=0.01). Self-referential negative hits were positively associated with depressive symptoms (adjusted coefficient=0.45, 95% CI=0.15-0.75, p=0.003), and this association was stronger in females (adjusted interaction p=0.04).

Limitations: The reliability and validity of the recall task are unknown. We cannot provide evidence of a causal effect of recall on depressive symptoms in this cross-sectional study.

Conclusions: Adolescents who recalled more self-referential negative and fewer self-referential positive words had more severe depressive symptoms. Females did not demonstrate more recall biases, but the association between self-referential negative hits and depressive symptoms was stronger in females. Negative self-referential recall may be a risk factor for depressive symptoms and is a good candidate for longitudinal studies.