(PS5-84) The Interplay of Child Neural Reward Responsiveness and Deprivation Experiences in the Prospective Prediction of Depressive Symptoms

Background: Alterations in reward responsiveness have been implicated in depression risk in youth and may represent a key mechanism implicated in depression. However, not all youth who experience alterations in reward processing will develop depression, suggesting the presence of factors that may moderate risk patterns. Given evidence that experiences of deprivation (e.g., family- and neighborhood-level disadvantage) are related to altered reward function, the current study sought to examine the interaction between socioeconomic status and reward responsiveness in predicting increases in depression in a sample of youth at low and high risk for depression.

Methods: Participants in the study included 77 youth (ages 9-16) at low and high risk for depression based on maternal history of major depressive disorder. At baseline, mothers completed a diagnostic interview to assess psychopathology, and the income-to-needs ratio and Area Deprivation Index (ADI) to assess family and neighborhood disadvantage. Youth completed measures of depressive symptoms at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Youth also completed a monetary reward guessing task while electroencephalography (EEG) was collected to measure neural reward responsiveness using an event-related potential called the reward positivity (RewP).

Results: Results revealed a significant interaction between child RewP and both family- and neighborhood-level disadvantage in the prospective prediction of depressive symptoms at 12-months. Specifically, a more attenuated RewP, indicating more blunted reward response at baseline predicted increases in depressive symptoms at 12-months for youth with either a lower income-to-needs ratio (t(86.63)=2.19, p=.03) or higher ADI score (t(40.89)=2.42, p=.02).  


Conclusions: Together, these findings suggest that reduced reward reactivity at the electrocortical level is a risk factor for youth depression, but only in the presence of family- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage. Interventions focusing on enhancing positive affect and reward response among youth exposed to higher levels of deprivation may be particularly effective in preventing the emergence of depression.