The role of BIS/BAS in the vulnerability for depression in adolescent girls

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST), the original (i.e. Gray, 1982) or revised (Gray & McNaughton, 2000), has yet to be used as a framework for investigating vulnerability to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adolescents. The present study employed a high-risk design to examine whether aberrant BIS-FFFS/BAS activity was similarly present in both depressed girls and girls at high risk for depression. Methods: N= 85 age-matched biological daughters of mothers with differential MDD status: (a) MDD (n= 17), (b) high-risk (n= 34), and (c) healthy controls (n= 34) completed measures of the BIS/BAS, depression, and anxiety. Results: MDD girls scored significantly higher on BIS than healthy controls but not high-risk girls, and the high-risk and control groups did not differ. No group differences were found on BAS or FFFS-Fear. Conclusions: Elevated BIS was not identified as a vulnerability factor for MDD; however, it does distinguish depressed adolescents from healthy controls.