Participants in this research will include 40 female adolescents, aged 14-18, with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 40 healthy adolescents from the greater Boston area by Dr. Emily Belleau, at McLean Hospital's Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research.~The study will include four sessions:~A clinical diagnostic interview as well as filling out a series of questionnaires and assessments.~The second session will include a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scan to be conducted at the McLean Hospital Imaging Center. Participants will be asked to respond to surveys on their cell phone in the week following the fMRI brain scan.~The third session will include a diagnostic interview, assessments, and questionnaires to be completed three-months after the fMRI brain scan. Participants will be asked to complete surveys on their cell phone during the week following this three month follow-up session.~The fourth session will include a diagnostic interview, assessments, and questionnaires to be completed six-months after the fMRI brain scan. Participants will be asked to complete surveys on their cell phone during the week following this six month follow-up session.
Lack of perceived control, particularly during stress, has been critically implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD) and anhedonic symptoms, especially among female adolescents; yet the neural underpinnings of perceived control disruptions in MDD remain poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging with a novel value of control task in conjunction with a prospective design, this study will provide a comprehensive understanding of stress and perceived control related mechanisms in female adolescents with MDD and will examine stress-induced disruptions in perceived control as a predictor of real world expressions of maladaptive coping and anhedonia.