Abstract/Summary

Objectives: Anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, is a risk factor for future depressive episodes and is linked to social withdrawal, which may contribute to loneliness—another risk factor for depression. Understanding how anhedonia and its sub-components relate to depression and loneliness could reveal targets for intervention development. Methods: We recruited (N=275) young people (Mage: 20.5) with clinical levels of depression symptoms, scoring ≥27 on the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. Participants completed the Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents (ASA) and its subscales 1: Enjoyment, Excitement, and Emotional Flattening, 2: Enthusiasm, Connection, and Purpose and 3: Effort, Motivation, and Drive, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale at baseline (N=273) and four-month follow-up (N=173). Multiple regression analyses examined the relationships between anhedonia, depressive symptoms and loneliness, cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: Cross-sectionally, the ASA total scores (β = .655, p < .001), subscale 1 (β = .568, p < .001) and subscale 3 (β = .153, p = .034) were associated with depression. ASA total scores (β = .651, p < .001), subscale 1 (β = .397, p <.001), subscale 2 (β = .196, p <.001), and subscale 3 (β = .176, p = .018) were associated with loneliness. Longitudinally, ASA total scores (β = .485, p <.001), and subscale 1(β = .298, p = .008) predicted depression, while ASA subscale 2 showed a trend in predicting loneliness (β = .099, p = .058). Conclusions: This study highlights the role of anhedonia sub-components in predicting depression and loneliness in young people. Knowing the specific anhedonia sub-components that predict increases in depression and loneliness could help guide more tailored anhedonia treatment development.