This leads to two observations pertinent to the present study. First, where depressive symptoms in adolescents are assessed to be of clinical significance (e.g., moderate to severe depression on a CDI score), it is likely that anxiety plays a role as well.  Second, the broad-band notion of negative affectivity in adolescents is similar to the home emotions of commuters after a long drive, namely, “negative home mood” and “dysphoria” (Novaco et al., 1991).  Thus, the broad-band notion of negative affectivity in both parents and adolescents may later prove useful in understanding any association that may be found between the strain of long commutes for parents and adolescent depression.

Life Events and Difficulties

            McCauley and colleagues (1995) also recognized that there are two parts to the consideration of risk factors for depression.  As we have seen above, the first part pertains to the vulnerability threshold that exists within the young adolescent or child through their attachment experiences.  The second part pertains to the external stressors with which the vulnerable individual is faced.  Since the timing of puberty as a single factor does not appear to be related to the onset of depression , one must be cautious in conceptualizing the onset of puberty, with its accompanying hormonal changes, as a stressful event leading to the onset of depression.  Instead, McCauley and colleagues suggest that the stressors surrounding environmental and developmental demands play a more important role in the onset of depression in adolescence.

            Consistent with this line of thought, Goodyer (1995) provided exploratory observations on the relationship between life events and difficulties and adolescent depression.  He acknowledges that empirical evidence is lacking, since only one preliminary longitudinal study has been published on the influence of life events (Goodyer, 1991).  In this study, the role of life events and friendships in the recovery of 8 to 16-year-olds with a clinical diagnosis of depression or anxiety was investigated.  Over the 14 to 28 months between onset of disorder, referral to the clinic, and follow-up after discharge, there was a decrease of exposure to undesirable life events.  At the same time, there were significant improvements in the confiding relations for their mothers.  But neither of these developments during the course and treatment of the disorder predicted recovery.  Instead, failure to recover was predicted by friendship difficulties occurring after onset of the disorder.  These findings were especially true for those diagnosed with depression.

            It also appears that the number of events is significant for increasing the probability of clinical depression among 8- through 16-year-olds.  When undesirable events are combined with lonely mothers and distressed mothers, the known odds of developing a depressive or anxiety disorder increase 100-fold.  Furthermore, mothers with a lifetime history of depression report a significant increase in undesirable life events which, in turn, exert a negative impact on their children.  This suggests that some families may be ‘life event prone’ such that children and adolescents in these families have a greater risk of exposure to undesirable life  events (Goodyer, 1995).

            Goodyer (1995) also examined the desirable life events such as school achievements on the risk for anxiety and depression.  Findings indicated that the presence or absence of achievements or other desirable life events appear to have no association with the onset of depression or anxiety disorders.  However, when the absence of achievements was considered in association with the quality of recent friendships, there is a clear and important relationship.  Thus, not only do friendship difficulties predict failure to recover, but they appear to create an even greater negative impact when the absence of desirable events and achievements follows the friendship  difficulties.

            What are the implications of these findings for young adolescents whose parents have long commutes?  First, if negative life events are combined with distressed mothers, who are also lonely, the risk for depression in the child increases dramatically.  We have already seen that long commutes with high impedance are associated with negative affect and dysphoria for parents in the home (Novaco et al., 1991).  Therefore, it is reasonable to conjecture that the effects of long, stressful commutes on parents may greatly enhance the negative impact of life difficulties on the young adolescent which are independent of commuting behavior.

            Second, it is unclear whether the simple factor of less time together with long commuting parents can be considered an undesirable life event in itself.  But, as we have seen, the sheer loss of time may impede important “coaching” functions of parents within the context of a secure attachment relationship.  The young adolescent may indeed have a critical need for greater responsiveness on the part of parents as he learns to regulate his emotions within the context of proliferating stressors characteristic of adolescence.

            Third, the presence of friendships appears to be a kind of compensating resource in coping with the depressive effects of undesirable life events. If commuting behavior of parents is shown to be associated with young adolescent depression, then we may postulate that the presence or absence of friendships may moderate the negative effects of long commutes.  But, before generating hypotheses regarding commute length and early adolescent depression, we must look more broadly at the cognitive and social development of young adolescents.