The evolution of depressive symptoms during transition to college and the moderating role of cognitive distortions
High school to college transition is a very stressful step for many students. In Quebec, for most of them, this transition takes place between the ages of 16 to 18. While several studies found no significant gender differences in depression among college students, others report a major rise between 15 and 18 years old where girls experience depression at twice the rate of boys, which underlines the hypothesis of a higher vulnerability to depression. Following these findings, the present study that was conducted with 211 students (87 boys and 124 girls) who completed the high school to college transition, examines, through longitudinal analyses, the evolution of depressive symptoms, levels of stress and cognitive distortions. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating role of cognitive distortions and gender in relation of stress and depression. The results showed that during this transition period, girls reported more depressive symptoms and stress, while boys showed more cognitive distortions related to achievement. Among boys, a decrease of dependency cognitive distortions was observed over the years. The moderating role of cognitive distortions related to achievement and to dependency (in the last year of high school) in the relation between stress and depression (in the 1st year of college) was noted during that transition period, but is not moderated by gender. A discussion and a presentation of the limits of the study, conclude the article.