Investigating the Link Between Depression, Cognition, and Motivation in Late Childhood

Research has revealed broad cognitive deficits (e.g., memory, learning) in depression, and that motivation may account for this link. We tested the state (i.e., only present during depression), trait (i.e., underlying vulnerability) and scar (i.e., lasting corollary) hypotheses of cognitive dysfunction in depression. We additionally tested subjective motivation as a mediator of the concurrent depression-cognition link. In a longitudinal sample of 11,878 children ages 9–11, we found no evidence of a concurrent state or longitudinal trait or scar relationship between depression and cognition. The pattern of depression-cognition relationships—which precluded a mediator analysis—in our childhood sample is a departure from previous studies. Our findings indicate that cognitive deficits are not strongly associated with depression in childhood, in contrast with the impairment commonly seen in older individuals with depression.