The interplay of reward responsiveness and socioeconomic disadvantage in the prospective prediction of depression symptoms in youth

Background Alterations in reward responsiveness represent a key mechanism implicated in youth depression risk. However, not all youth with these alterations develop depression, suggesting the presence of factors that may moderate risk patterns. As socioeconomic disadvantage is also related to youth depression risk, particularly for youth exhibiting altered reward function, this study examined whether indices of family- and neighborhood-level disadvantage interacted with electrocortical reward responsivity to predict depression symptom trajectories across childhood and adolescence. Methods Participants included 76 youth (ages 9–16 years) at low and high risk for depression based on maternal history of depression. At baseline, youth completed a monetary reward-guessing task while electroencephalography was recorded to measure the reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential indexing reward responsiveness. Family and neighborhood disadvantage were assessed using the income-to-needs (ITN) ratio and Area Deprivation Index (ADI), respectively. Self-reported and clinician-rated depression symptoms were assessed across a multiwave, 18-month follow-up. Results RewP interacted with family- and neighborhood-level disadvantage to predict self-reported depression symptom trajectories. Specifically, blunted RewP predicted self-reported depression symptom increases for youth with a lower ITN ratio and higher ADI score. A blunted RewP also predicted clinician-rated depression symptom increases for youth living in neighborhoods with higher ADI scores. Conclusions Findings suggest that reduced reward responsiveness is a mechanism implicated in future depression risk among youth, specifically in the context of family- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage. Interventions that enhance reward response among youth exposed to higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage may be particularly effective in preventing depression emergence.