Do better executive functions buffer the effect of current parental depression on adolescent depressive symptoms?

•Do executive functions (EF) protect against depression in high-risk youth?•Participants were parents with recurrent MDD and their adolescent offspring.•Adolescents exposed to a current parental episode had more depressive symptoms.•High EF served as a buffer for adolescents exposed to a current parental episode.•Targeting EF in interventions for high risk groups may be beneficial.

BackgroundOffspring of parents with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and especially those exposed to a current episode of parental depression have been found to be at increased risk for developing depression themselves. Exposure to a current parental depressive episode also reduces the efficacy of interventions in high risk or depressed adolescents. This highlights the need to identify protective factors for adolescents exposed to a current parental depressive episode. Executive functions serve as an important cognitive resource, involved in the ability to regulate mood and thoughts and cope with stressful events. This study examined the buffering role of two components of executive functioning, inhibitory control and mental flexibility, in the association between a current parental episode of MDD and adolescent depressive symptoms.MethodsA high-risk sample of 288 adolescent offspring of parents with recurrent major depressive disorder completed an Affective Go/No Go and a Verbal Fluency task. Parents and adolescents underwent psychiatric interviews.ResultsIn the presence of a current parental depressive episode in the parent, adolescents with better inhibitory control and mental flexibility had fewer depressive symptoms after controlling for age, gender and IQ.LimitationsParticipants were the offspring of depressed parents and it is not clear whether the protective effects of executive functioning observed here would generalise to other populations.ConclusionsExecutive functions may protect against adolescent depression in the presence of a parental depressive episode. It may be beneficial to target executive functions in preventive programs for individuals at high-risk for depression.