Acting Out When You’re Down and Out: The Effects of Stressful Life Events and Depression on RVB Jenna Clarkson Stefanie Allen Advisors: Ellen S. Cohn, Ph.D.,& Lindsey M. Cole; Ph.D. Introduction Results Discussion An incident of life stress can be defined as an event or experience that produces severe strain. It has been previously studied by researchers that stressful life events could be: low socioeconomic status³ disrupted family structure/interparental conflict³ negative life events (death, major accidents, etc.)³ There has also been several studies that have focused on depression. Depression can be defined as events that cause an increase in emotional distress. Research has shown that causes of depression can be: enhancing intimacy10 coping with interpersonal concerns10 negative emotions10 Researchers also believe that stressful life events and depression are one in the same, and increase RVB. e.g.: under-aged drinking drug use assault, etc. The goal of this study is to determine whether or not there is a differentiation between stressful life events and depression, and if each of these alone can predict RVB. The results supported our hypothesis Stressful life events and depression are two independent variables in predicting RVB Any type of life stressor is related to an increase in RVB Depression is related to an increase in RVB The two variables of life stressors and depression do not have an effect on each other, meaning that stressful life events and depression together do not cause RVB Implications: The justice system could provide more rehabilitation centers for criminals that may have severe depression or have suffered immense stressful life events instead of mass prisons Make separate programs for individuals that experience stressful life events and/or depression Programs for children of divorce Therapists should formulate plans for an individual to refrain from engaging in RVB Limitations and Future Directions: The data, although longitudinal, could only show correlation, not causation of the effects of stressful life events and depression on RVB Our study used predictors from two different time points Gender may also affect RVB and the effect of depression and stressful life events Stressful life events and depression again may be more related to specific types of RVB (e.g., self harm, harm to others, drug use) Stressful Life Events Depression RVB 1.00 .30*** .36*** .27*** *p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.001 Depression .18*** Hypotheses RVB Hypothesis 1: Stressful life events will increase RVB Hypothesis 2: Depression will increase RVB .31*** Stressful Life Events Method References New Hampshire Youth Study (NHYS), a longitudinal study focusing on determining reasons for adolescents’ rule violating behavior. Participants: 8 middle schools and 5 high schools Out of the 663 participants, the average age was 14.7 and 57.6% were female Data was obtained by mass survey sessions in several middle schools and high school Measures: The data was collected at three time points: Fall of 2007 (T1) Spring of 2007 (T2) Spring of 2009 (T3) Procedure: Using the data, we want to measure: Stressful life events (M = 140.40, SD = 148.54) (T2) Depression (M = .94, SD = .71) (T1) RVB (M = 3.20, SD = 4.01) (T3) ¹Arpawong, T. E., Sussman, S., Milam, J. E., Unger, J. B., Land, H., Sun, P., & Rohrbach, L. A. (2015). Post-traumatic growth, stressful life events, and relationships with substance use behaviors among alternative high school students: A prospective study. Psychology & Health, 30(4), 475-494. doi:10.1080/08870446.2014.979171 ²Blum, A., & Singer, M. (1983). Substance abuse and social deviance: A youth assessment framework. Child & Youth Services, , 7. ³Chappel, A., Suldo, S., & Ogg, J. (2014). Associations between adolescents' family stressors and life satisfaction. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 23(1), 76-84. doi:10.1007/s10826-012-9687-9 ⁴Cohn, E., & French, J. (2009). Predicting rule-violating behavior: A longitudinal study of legal attitudes and individual difference variables. Conference Papers -- Law & Society ⁵Drake, K. E., Bull, R., & Boon, J. C. W. (2008). Interrogative suggestibility, self-esteem, and the influence of negative life-events. Legal & Criminological Psychology, 13(2), 299-307. doi:10.1348/135532507X209981 ⁶Francis, K. A. (2014). General strain theory, gender, and the conditioning influence of negative internalizing emotions on youth risk behaviors. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 12(1), 58-76. doi:10.1177/1541204013477428 ⁷Islam, N., & Laugen, C. (2015). Gender differences in depression and condom use among sexually active Canadians. Journal of Affective Disorders, 174, 511-515. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.12.013 ⁸Mann, M. J., Kristjansson, A. L., Sigfusdottir, I. D., & Smith, M. L. (2014). The impact of negative life events on young adolescents: Comparing the relative vulnerability of middle level, high school, and college-age students. Research in Middle Level Education Online, 38(2), 1-13. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=98677069&site=ehost-live ⁹McFarlane, S., Younger, N., Francis, D., Gordon-Strachan, G., & Wilks, R. (2014). Risk behaviours and adolescent depression in Jamaica. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 19(4), 458-467. doi:10.1080/02673843.2012.751041 ¹⁰O'Hare, T., & Sherrer, M. V. (2000). Co-occurring stress and substance abuse in college first offenders. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 3(1), 29-47 ¹¹Reicherts, M., & Perrez, M. (1990). The individual analysis of rule-orientation behavior by depressed persons. In H. Zapotoczky, T. Wenzel, H. (. Zapotoczky & T. (. Wenzel (Eds.), (pp. 87-93). Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers. R² = .16, F(2,660) = 63.15, p < .001 Findings When you are more depressed, you are more likely to engage in RVB When you experience more stressful life events, you are more likely to engage in RVB For more information email: jln295@wildcats.unh.edu and sks48@wildcats.unh.edu