On self-knowledge conflicts as promoters of stressful experiences and the prevention of depression in adolescence

Abstract

The self-knowledge changes taking place during adolescence as well as the developmental, adaptive opportunities they bring, and the challenges and risks to adjustment they convey, have deserved the attention from researchers and professionals. Within this framework, first some research results are presented here on a particular kind of intrapersonal conflicts, the implicative dilemmas; second, some topics for further research are highlighted; third, the preventive interventions of depression in adolescence is discussed. Some studies suggest, for instance, that from middle to late adolescence some reorganizations of self-knowledge, such as intrapersonal conflicts, promote stressful experiences and are possibly related to an increase of internalized, depressive symptoms. Thus, further longitudinal research on how self-knowledge conflicts evolve in the context of daily experiences of late adolescents / emerging adults is welcome and needed. In addition, a proposal within which preventive intervention of depression in adolescence / emerging adulthood (especially females) could include a component on coping with those self-knowledge developmental challenges is considered.